Taichung residents recorded the highest satisfaction ratings for their housing conditions last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Thursday last week.
Satisfaction with housing conditions such as size, ventilation, natural light, water leakage and privacy received a rating of 87.8 percent in Taichung, the DGBAS said, citing a survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior.
It was the highest among the special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — and 2 percentage points higher than a year earlier, the survey showed.
Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), head of the research department of real-estate sales agent H&B Business Group (住商不動產), said Taichung has devised successful redevelopment measures that have lowered the average age of residential properties and improved dwelling spaces.
Housing prices in Taichung are generally lower than those in northern Taiwan, especially those in Taipei and New Taipei City, so residents there have more disposable income to improve their living conditions, Hsu said.
Taoyuan came in second, with a satisfaction rating of 87 percent, up 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier, while Kaohsiung took the third spot with a satisfaction rating of 86 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, the survey showed.
Tainan residents recorded a satisfaction rating of 84.1 percent, down 4.6 percentage points, the steepest drop among the six municipalities, while Taipei and New Taipei City received satisfaction ratings of 81.3 percent and 77.9 percent respectively, down 4.1 percentage points and 4.2 percentage points from a year earlier.
Home owners recorded a satisfaction rating of 85.6 percent, higher than the 73.1 percent registered by tenants.
Female respondents recorded a satisfaction rating of 83 percent, while male respondents recorded a satisfaction rating of 85.6 percent, the survey found.
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