The average length of loans to purchase residential properties in Taiwan hit a record high of 269 months, or about 22.4 years, first-quarter statistics from the Ministry of the Interior showed.
The average interest rate on new housing loans was 1.79 percent and the loan-to-value ratio averaged 62 percent, the data showed.
Among the six special municipalities, the longest loan terms were in Kaohsiung, with an average of 278 months, followed by 277 months in Tainan, 274 months in New Taipei City and 262 months in Taipei.
Although soaring home prices place a heavy burden on buyers, lower interest rates mean that some people are more willing to stretch out loan repayments to secure enough money to enjoy their daily lives, My Housing Monthly research manager Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said.
Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), head of the research department at real-estate agency H&B Business Group (住商不動產), said that in the past, high interest rates tended to encourage people to repay mortgages faster.
However, mortgage rates continue to set record lows, pushing down the cost of buying a home, and giving people more options to leverage their money in investments or maintain a high quality of life, Hsu said.
Ho said that the repayment terms are likely to increase unless mortgage rates spike or housing prices slump.
Hsu said that banks are expected to offer longer-term loans for relatively new residential properties in the short-term.
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