Interest in buying homes grew slightly in the first three quarters of this year, as evidenced by a modest increase in home ownership nationwide, especially in areas that are more affordable, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said yesterday.
The latest government data showed the ratio of housing transactions in major municipalities against the total number of households stood at 2.7 percent in the January-to-September period, up from 2.53 percent in the same period last year, the nation’s only listed broker said.
That means that for every 1,000 households, 27 bought a property in the first nine months of the year, compared with 25 a year earlier.
The pickup came after the six special municipalities reported 168,474 property transfers versus 6.24 million households.
The reading is a critical gauge of home buying.
The ratio was highest in Taoyuan at 3.44 percent, or 28,226 units, followed by Taichung with 3.15 percent, or 31,067 units, and New Taipei City with 2.77 percent, or 43,653 units.
Kaohsiung had 2.53 percent, or 27,998 units; Tainan 2.47 percent, or 17,177 units and Taipei was at the bottom with 1.9 percent, or 20,353 units.
“Affordability to a large degree accounts for the difference,” Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾進德) said.
Despite the slight improvement in sentiment, home ownership in Taipei has grown increasingly untenable for households with double incomes, Tseng said.
Average housing prices in Taipei are equal to 15 times that of household incomes, the data showed.
The relatively old age of houses in the capital also put off prospective buyers, Tseng added.
Homes in Taichung and Taoyuan are newer and have lower ownership hurdles, he said.
Kaohsiung is catching up in popularity on account of indicators such as land and property deals, as well as the volume of presale projects, Tseng said, adding the trend is favorable for balanced development.
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