Developers and builders plan to launch presale and new home projects worth NT$174.28 billion (US$5.33 billion) in the spring sales season, down 13 percent from a year earlier, to avoid a supply glut, the Chinese-language Housing Monthly said yesterday.
It remains to be seen if the central bank’s lifting of credit controls last week can invigorate the market after transactions plunged to a 14-year low last year.
“Some developers and builders have decided to give it a try after standing pat last year,” magazine research manager Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said by telephone.
Most people prefer to wait and see if they can gain a better grasp of policy directions following the power transition on May 20, he said.
The spring sales season began yesterday and is to run through next month. Luxury homes, for which the central bank kept the mortgage limit at 60 percent, rejoin the market in the hope of reviving interest amid safety concerns over soil liquefaction.
Luxury homes have a solid foundation, making them more resilient to soil liquefaction, whereas old houses are more vulnerable and likely to sustain serious damage during a major earthquake, Ho said.
Demand for luxury homes has picked up since the Cabinet on March 14 launched an online database indicating areas prone to soil liquefaction, Ho said.
That explains why Continental Development Corp (大陸建設) is rolling out a luxury home project in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) and Yuanlih Construction Enterprise Group (元利建設) is selling newly completed apartments in the city’s Daan District (大安).
Both companies have declined to reveal their pricing policy and the market expects the former to cost between NT$2.5 million and NT$3 million per ping (3.3m2) and the latter between NT$2 million and NT$2.5 million per ping.
Luxury homes, especially in Taipei, have borne the brunt of tightening measures, noticeably soaring house taxes.
Taipei City Government has indicated a willingness to review the tax schedule that imposes extra levies on houses in popular locations and built with expensive materials.
“Building companies benefit from rate cuts more than potential home buyers, who would need greater incentives to join the market,” Ho said.
Lower interest rates enable developers and builders to pay lower borrowing costs, therefore bringing down default risks, Ho said.
The central bank said rate cuts would help maintain the nation’s financial stability.
On average, presale and new home prices have fallen 6 percent in the past 12 months, while existing homes have dropped by 10 percent, Ho said.
The pace appears to be inadequate as prospective buyers demand concessions of 10 to 15 percent, a recent survey by Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) showed.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known