The property market has shown no signs of slowing despite a slew of cooling measures by the central bank, as outstanding loans for home purchases last month rose for the 14th straight month to a record NT$5.165 trillion (US$176.3 billion).
Loans to construction companies also expanded for the 11th straight month to a decade-high of NT$1.288 trillion last month, central bank data showed.
The increases came despite the central bank’s move to raise its key interest rates last month by 0.125 percentage points — its third increase last year — and continued targeted credit tightening and stricter measures on mortgages to cool down the housing market in the Greater Taipei region.
To help curb speculative investment in the property market, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday in a statement that the ministry and the Ministry of the Interior had agreed to let local governments reinstate a tax on idle land, effective immediately.
Local governments can now reimpose the idle land tax, which was suspended in 1985 and is about two to five times the land value tax, to help curb land hoarding and keep property prices in check.
Moreover, local governments can also buy idle land from private developers or owners based on the so-called “publicly announced land values” set by local governments, the ministry said.
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