Property transactions last month contracted by about 6 percent in the nation’s six special municipalities from a year earlier as housing-market transactions head toward a record low this year, brokers said.
The number of property deals last month totaled 17,109 in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, representing a drop of 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data published on the brokers’ Web sites.
MONTHLY RECOVERY
The annual decline contrasted with a monthly increase in transactions in the six cities due to seasonal demand, brokers said.
“The trading volume is falling toward a record low in light of the performance so far,” Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said.
As of last month, property deals in the six municipalities stood at 163,336, a 10.4 percent decline from a year earlier, as homebuyers remained on the sidelines in anticipation of price declines, brokers said.
Taipei is bearing the brunt of the decline, with transactions last month plummetting 31.7 percent to 1,729 units from a year earlier, government figures showed.
Developers and builders have refrained from introducing new projects in Taipei, as steep price hikes from previous years make home ownership untenable for average buyers, Tseng said.
New Taipei City fared better with transactions last month increasing 6.8 percent year-on-year to 4,161 units, official figures showed.
Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) spokesman Lin Tai-lung (林泰隆) attributed the rebound to the completion of pre-sale projects in New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水), Sindian (新店) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts.
Existing homes in New Taipei City were relatively affordable compared with competitive properties in Taipei, Lin said.
Transactions last month held steady in Taoyuan, thanks to the completion of government-
sponsored housing complexes, Lin said, adding that stripping the effect, the market has also showed signs of a slowdown.
Property transactions dropped 19.4 percent to 3,118 units in Taichung and fell 7.8 percent to 1,481 units in Tainan, as expectations of a price correction extended southward, the local governments said.
Kaohsiung bucked the trend with a 14.9 percent increase last month to 3,234 units, official data showed.
The completion of pre-sale projects and relative affordability accounted for the increase in Kaohsiung, Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) said.
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