Developers and builders plan to launch more than NT$100 billion (US$3.27 billion) worth of presale housing projects over the next four weeks, on predictions the government is set to implement favorable policies to celebrate the anniversary of President Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration, online property researcher HouseFun said yesterday.
Presale housing projects in northern Taiwan worth NT$107 billion are on the market in time for the so-called “May 20 sales season” — which falls between May 15 and June 15 — as publicly listed real-estate companies endeavor to boost revenues despite sluggish sentiment, HouseFun head Ni Tze-jen (倪子仁) said.
The figure is virtually flat from last year when the market started to encounter headwinds it has yet to recover from, Ni said.
“Aware of the bleak sentiment, listed firms have delayed launching new projects so far this year... They decided to make moves now for fear continued inaction might drag down their earnings and share prices,” Ni said by telephone.
Eleven of the new projects were originally slated for the spring sales season, HouseFun said. They include a project in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) by Fubon Land Development Co (富邦建設), a development in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和) by Kindom Construction Corp (冠德建設) and a project in New Taipei City’s Yingge District (鶯歌) by Chong Hong Construction Co (長虹建設).
On the local bourse, shares in construction and building material companies have seen a 5.75 percent increase this year, compared with the TAIEX’s 2.92 percent gain, Taiwan Stock Exchange data show.
However, stock in mid-sized real-estate firms declined an average of 14.66 percent in over-the-counter trading on the local bourse during the same period, weaker than the GRETAI’s 1.19 percent retreat, data show.
There are 31 presale housing projects valued at more than NT$1 billion and 14 projects surpassing NT$3 billion, HouseFun said.
“Builders and developers might want to launch new projects in the first half, if action is necessary, since presidential and elective campaigns are expected to dominate the nation in the second half,” Ni said.
Taipei accounts for NT$20.9 billion of the new projects and New Taipei City another NT$26.4 billion, HouseFun said.
Property funds have migrated south in the past couple of years but seem to be returning to the north where house prices are believed to be more resistant to corrections in the event of a downturn, Ni said.
The presale project figures suggest that real-estate suppliers might be intending to opt out of the fall sales season in late September, he said.
That calculation explains why major construction companies such as Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設), High Wealth Construction Co (興富發), San Fan Property Ltd (三發地產) and Chainqui Construction Development Co (全坤建設) are all offering projects in the May 20 sales season in northern Taiwan, HouseFun said.
Final sales might be poor, given the sharp decline in prospective buyers nationwide after the Cabinet unveiled its version of the income tax plan on gains from property transactions, Ni said.
Policy uncertainty might continue to weigh on market sentiment, as the Cabinet said it plans to consult different sectors before offering the draft bill to the legislature for review, he said.
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