The value of new presale and housing products launched last quarter totaled NT$324.8 billion (US$11.43 billion), a 9.2 percent increase from a year earlier, a survey released by Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設) showed on Wednesday.
“The market is recovering, as we can see from the trading volume and prices,” Cathay Real Estate said in a quarterly report.
Presale and new housing prices averaged NT$300,200 per ping (3.3m2) nationwide last quarter, it said.
Photo: CNA
Prices in Taipei grew faster than in other areas, to NT$865,800 per ping, while prices reached NT$400,300 per ping in New Taipei City, Cathay Real Estate said.
Housing prices are relatively affordable at NT$267,200 per ping in Taoyuan, NT$257,100 per ping in Taichung, NT$235,300 per ping in Tainan and NT$239,600 per ping in Kaohsiung, it said.
Apartment prices rose 9.3 percent year-on-year across Taiwan, with price increases of 6.47 percent in Taichung and 13.63 percent in Tainan, it said.
However, New Taipei City bucked the uptrend with a 1.29 percent decline, Cathay Real Estate added.
While apartments are the dominant housing type in northern Taiwan, and townhouses are more common in the south, it said.
Overall, the market remained healthy after the central bank in early December introduced new credit controls to curb property speculation and the legislature passed rules requiring greater transparency on transaction data, Cathay Real Estate said.
The National Development Council’s plan to create a business climate index to monitor changes in the housing market would help policymakers better understand developments in the sector, it said.
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