Major property brokers yesterday reported a solid decline in housing transactions for last month, as the Lunar New Year shortened working days and the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China discouraged outdoor activities.
Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋), the nation’s largest broker by number of offices, saw transactions shrink 21 percent from December, as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the number of working days by one week and the 2019-nCoV outbreak dampened buying interest.
Kaohsiung posted the steepest decline of 20 percent, followed by Taoyuan with 19 percent, Taichung with 12 percent and New Taipei City with 11 percent, Evertrust spokesman Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said.
Taipei, Tainan and Hsinchu fared well, with transactions rising 2 percent, 10 percent and 7 percent respectively, Hsieh said.
Overall, prospective buyers were reluctant to raise offers, while sellers grew less flexible, he said.
The market was earlier expected to gain steam after the holiday and presidential and legislative elections, but the flu-like virus cast a new shadow, Hsieh said, adding that it was premature to judge its impact.
Many organizations have delayed or canceled public gatherings to help contain the outbreak after nine confirmed cases in the nation as of yesterday.
H&B Realty Co (住商不動產), the nation’s biggest brokerage by number of franchises, said it observed a 17 percent retreat in transactions across the nation.
New Taipei City reported the sharpest fall of 32.3 percent, followed by Taipei with 22.1 percent and Taichung with 20.8 percent, H&B research manager Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨) said.
Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan also posted declines of 16.6 percent, 10.8 percent and 6.8 percent respectively, H&B said.
Holiday disruptions accounted for the poor showing, which might persist depending on how the outbreak pans out, Hsu said.
Air pollution was also an issue for Taichung, while political uncertainty affected sentiment in Kaohsiung, she said.
Billy Yen (顏炳立), general manager at property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan, voiced concern that the outbreak might put pressure on housing prices as people avoid going out.
Developers and builders might postpone new presales projects in the short term, while some might opt to lower prices to stimulate sales, Yen said.
Prices are therefore expected to drop by 5 to 10 percent this quarter, Yen said.
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) is less pessimistic, saying that property prices proved stable during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and should be resilient this time around as Taiwan’s economy is in a good shape.
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