A significant decline in residential and commercial transactions has forced a wave of real-estate brokers to close in Taipei, the Taipei Association of Real Estate Brokers (台北市房仲公會) said yesterday.
The number of association members has fallen by 77 from the end of last year to 780, leaving more than 1,000 people out of work and indicating a slowdown in the property market in Taipei, the association said.
Transactions of homes, shops and offices in Taipei this year could drop 29.5 percent year-on-year — only 21,078 units, an association forecast showed.
The figure represents an almost 70 percent drop from a peak in 2006, when transactions of residential and commercial property hit 68,976 units, the association said.
Association chairman Kuo Tzu-li (郭子立) said that since the beginning of this year, many of the group’s members have scaled back their business due to the paucity of transactions, while others have simply terminated their operations and laid off their employees.
The worst is yet to come, Kuo said, adding that many real-estate brokers are still struggling and might also have to close.
Some of association’s members have been seeking business opportunities overseas by brokering deals in foreign markets, although their profits have been limited by an increase in the number of business disputes, he said.
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