Housing transactions in the nation’s six special municipalities last month totaled 15,500 units, falling by double percentage points from one month earlier and the year-ago level, as prospective buyers stayed on the sidelines over the Lunar New Year holiday and demand might remain tepid amid a viral outbreak in China, analysts said.
The results represented a 31 percent plunge from December last year and a 22 percent retreat year-on-year, data from local governments showed.
The pace of monthly decline was relatively even nationwide, ranging from 24 percent in Taipei to 36 percent in Taichung, according to official figures.
Holiday disruptions accounted for the poor showing, Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) research manager Chen Ping-chen (陳炳辰) said, citing the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 and the week-long Lunar New Year holiday late last month.
People have shown less interest in buying homes over holidays and this year would prove no exception, Chen said, adding that people also preferred to stay home as temperatures dropped.
Property transfers in Taipei fell to 1,915 units and stood at 3,952 units in New Taipei City.
They totaled 2,970 units in Taoyuan, 2,821 units in Taichung, 1,554 units in Tainan and 2,288 units in Kaohsiung.
The rapid spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus in China has fueled unease in Taiwan and around the world, which is unfavorable for the local property market in the short term, Chen said.
Taoyuan fared relatively resilient on an annual basis, with a mild 4 percent drop, compared with double-digit corrections in all other special municipalities.
Taoyuan has gained popularity for its relative affordability and for major public construction programs, including the Asian Silicon Valley project and the Aerotropolis, Chen said.
The city has become the favorite destination of Hong Kongers who have moved to Taiwan, due to its proximity to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, government data showed.
Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) said the outbreak would weigh on the property market this month and the first quarter of this year.
The outbreak has dominated the media’s attention, dampening interest in other issues, Great Home head researcher Mandy Lang (郎美囡) said.
People might regain interest in the second quarter, when the weather turns warm and people become less susceptible to flu-like illnesses, Lang said.
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) was more optimistic, saying that the holiday disruptions would not extend into this month, adding that this month’s data would lend support to its judgment.
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