The sale value of presale housing units might increase by 30 percent to exceed NT$1 trillion (US$32.7 billion) this year, as low interest rates might sustain the pickup in buying interest, the General Chamber of Commerce (全國商業總會) said on Wednesday last week.
The forecast represented a significant upgrade from 21 percent growth that the chamber predicted in January.
“I cannot see any reason the improvement might not extend throughout this year, unless trade tensions between the US and China escalate beyond control,” chamber chairman Lai Cheng-yi (賴正鎰) told a news conference in Taipei.
The worst-case scenario is unlikely, as it could also hurt the US economy, the chamber said.
The sale value of presale housing totaled NT$523.87 billion in the six special municipalities in the first six months of the year and the figure is poised to surpass the NT$1 trillion mark by the end of this year, said Lai, who owns Taichung-based Shining Group (鄉林集團).
Lai said developers and builders are confident and have plans to launch new projects, as they bought NT$90.3 billion of land stock in the first half.
The number of building permits rose 17.4 percent to 5,533 in the first five months with total floor space rising 23.6 percent to 9.44 million ping (31.2 million meters squared), the chamber said, citing government statistics.
The property market has benefited from rallies in local equities as some corporate owners realized capital gains and increased stakes in luxury housing, the chamber said, adding that the market has also gained support from first-time home buyers and people with relocation needs.
Chamber supervisor Hsieh Kun-cheng (謝坤成), also a Taichung-based real-estate broker, said buying interest is high among people in their 30s and 40s, who like to be landlords and pursue regular rental incomes.
Such young buyers prefer small, partially furnished apartments so that they do not have to spend much money on decoration, Hsieh said.
Therefore, developers had better watch out for the trend in efforts to win customers and speed up transactions, he said.
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