Local home buyers have begun to feel the pinch from hiked property prices, forcing them to settle for less desired homes at more affordable prices, a survey released by Chinatrust Real Estate Co (中信房屋) showed yesterday.
“In anticipation of rising property prices and inflationary pressure, many home buyers are not as picky and are rushing to close deals,” company vice president Richard Liu (劉天仁) told reporters.
The survey found that a majority of buyers expected to close deals with a discount of less than 20 percent, he said.
Liu forecast the nation’s property prices could see an average price hike of 5 percent to 10 percent price in the coming year and peak in the fourth quarter of next year if the economic recovery remains on track. As a result of the rising prices, shoppers are targeting cheaper homes.
The quarterly survey found that 44.2 percent of prospective buyers were shopping for properties priced below NT$5 million (US$155,000), up from 39.9 percent in the third quarter.
At the same time, some 28.3 percent of home buyers were looking for properties priced between NT$5 million and NT$7 million, while 27.4 percent were looking for homes priced above NT$7 million, down from 33.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Properties in parts of Taipei County such as Banciao (板橋) and Sinjhuang (新莊) became the No. 1 choice, the realtor said.
Assistant manager Jerry Chang (張世宗) estimated that 383,000 homes have changed hands this year, compared with 379,000 last year and 255,000 in 2001.
The number may grow slightly to just below 400,000, he said.
Peak years include 1996, 2006 and 2007, when 508,000, 450,000 and 410,000 homes changed hands respectively, he said.
The survey also found that only 27 percent of respondents — the lowest figure in four quarters — felt the economy had improved significantly, down from 43 percent in the previous quarter and 30.5 percent in the first quarter, when the real economy hit bottom.
Company chairman Chris Cheng (鄭余正全) said he expected the market to see mild growth, although a potential rate hike by the central bank and tightened credit in the second half of next year could slow it down.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS