Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) is pressing ahead with plans to launch new housing projects valued at NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) this year, unfazed by the growing economic uncertainty and the government’s planned legislation to rein in the property market, chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄) said yesterday.
Chao’s statement came a day after a real-estate report showed new housing projects shrank 49 percent year-on-year to NT$66.1 billion in the late September, the second-lowest level in the past five years.
The Chinese-language Housing Monthly, author of the report, said developers and construction firms are adopting delaying tactics amid unfavorable political rhetoric aimed at curbing the real-estate market by both ruling and opposition lawmakers.
Farglory Land Development shares fell 2.18 percent to NT$53.8 yesterday. On average, construction stocks lost 0.79 percent, compared with a rise of 0.57 percent on the benchmark TAIEX, stock exchange data showed.
Chao is chairman of Farglory Group (遠雄集團), which also owns Farglory Life Insurance Co (遠雄人壽), Farglory Hotel (遠雄悅來飯店), Taiwan Solar Energy Corp (元晶太陽能) and Golden Biotechnology Corp (國鼎生物科技).
Despite recent market pessimism, Chao said Farglory Land Development would retain its business strategy for this year.
“Home sales may accelerate in good times and slow down in bad times,” Chao said on the sidelines of a press conference to promote a housing project in Jhonghe (中和) District, New Taipei City (新北市).
Sales fluctuations are not a cause for worry as the nation’s economic fundamentals remain healthy, he said.
Several domestic developers have opted to postpone NT$57 billion of new housing projects until global financial markets show signs of stabilization and the government sheds clear light on its housing policy, Housing Monthly said.
The Cabinet last week approved several amended bills that require home buyers, real-estate brokers and land administration agents to register real transaction prices to make the market more transparent and accountable.
The proposed legislation, intended to take effect next year, is the government’s latest effort to level the playing field in the housing market as an increasing number of people find the cost of property out of their reach, especially in Taipei and New Taipei City.
Chao said it was unlikely that house prices would fall in Greater Taipei given the increasing scarcity of land.
The developer also voiced reservations about the disclosure requirement bill, saying only listed firms would be obliged to comply if it is passed into law.
“Small firms and individuals could submit inaccurate data, causing chaos on the market,” Chao said.
Farglory Development’s new project in Jhonghe is priced at NT$700,000 per ping (3.32m2) on average, or NT$60 million a unit of size between 75 ping and 90 ping.
The developer plans to build 700 units on a plot of land in Jhonghe that is 10 times the size of Da-an Forest Park in downtown Taipei.
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