The number of housing transactions totaled 16,631 units in the six special municipalities last month, a 6.44 percent decline from 17,775 in August last year, as flooding in the south and Ghost Month dampened buying interest, official data showed earlier this week.
The decline was steeper month-on-month at 15.7 percent, municipal housing data showed.
The role played by the torrential rain that battered southern Taiwan last month is evidenced by a double-digit slump of between 13 percent and 16 percent from last year in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, Tseng said.
The market was more resilient in Taoyuan with 2,928 deals, or a 4.1 percent fall from last year, and transactions slipped 7.9 percent to 1,960 units in Taipei after exceeding 2,000 units a month earlier.
New Taipei City proved the sole exception, with a 6.7 percent annual gain to 4,564 units, the data showed.
The strong showing had much to do with builders wrapping up construction on presale projects in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) said.
Taiwan Realty expected the local property market to stabilize this month and improve toward the end of the year, aided by continued economic expansion, ample liquidity and low interest rates, but Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) was less positive, saying the year-on-year increase has tapered off while price gaps widen.
Transactions in the special municipalities rose 8 percent in the first quarter, but the annual gain narrowed to 4.6 percent by Aug. 31, Evertrust researcher Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said.
Sellers have turned firm on pricing, while buyers refuse to budge in the absence of concessions, Hsieh said, adding that the stalemate could slow the property market.
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