Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋), Taiwan’s largest property broker by number of offices, saw its revenue spike 44 percent year-on-year to NT$260 billion (US$9.35 billion) in the first six months of this year, driven by significant market-share gains in Taoyuan, and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties.
The strong showing was also due to effective cooperation among the group’s three brands, Yung Ching Realty Co (永慶), U-Trust Realty Co (有巢氏) and Taiching Realty Co (台慶不動產), the group said.
Sales in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli soared 30 percent to NT$83.5 billion in the first half of the year, during which time joint selling accounted for 70 percent and individual outlets generated an average of NT$17 million, it said.
That suggested a market share of 40 percent in the three areas, achieved jointly by 3,600 staffers who managed to serve customers even when a level 3 COVID-19 alert chilled house-hunting activity in May and June, it said.
Evertrust Rehouse has actively embraced digital transformation in recent years and has adopted virtual reality and augmented reality devices for house hunting at its outlets, allowing customers to view properties amid COVID-19 restrictions, it said.
That helped grow the number of outlets from 35 to 230 in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli in the first half of the year, Evertrust Rehouse franchise business manager Chung Chih-cheng (莊志成) said.
Many outlets in the three areas posted revenues of above the NT$10 million, NT$20 million and NT$50 million marks, outperforming outlets in other areas of Taiwan, Evertrust said.
The housing market in Hsinchu has remained strong despite the outbreak, due to a shortage of existing homes and a limited supply of presale projects, a Hsinchu-based Taiching Realty outlet said.
Real demand, on the other hand, is robust on the back of high household incomes, as Hsinchu is home to the headquarters of Taiwan’s major technology firms, it said.
Brokers in Hsinchu also take advantage of demand for industrial land and factory buildings, the outlet said.
Prospective clients in Hsinchu are particularly receptive to house hunting guided by technology, it said, adding that 80 percent of peers use drones to help survey streets, buildings and land.
The group has said that the housing market should stage a comeback once the government has successfully dealt with the COVID-19 outbreak.
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