Developers in northern Taiwan plan to launch NT$150 billion (US$5.39 billion) of presale and newly completed housing projects for the fall season, as the market regains some confidence amid a declining number of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, the Chinese-language My Housing Monthly said.
Sentiment improved after the number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases dropped to single digits this month and the government said it was planning to issue stimulus vouchers in October to reinvigorate consumer activity.
“There are nine projects with total sales exceeding NT$10 billion, indicating an evident recovery in confidence on the part of developers,” wrote Ho Shih-chang (何世昌), research manager at the publication.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
The trend suggests that the market would gain further steam toward the end of this year, the peak season for property transactions, Ho said.
Most of the large projects are in the greater Taipei area — four in Taipei and three in New Taipei City — as the region sheds the COVID-19 hotspot label, encouraging developers to launch new projects, My Housing Monthly said.
Urban renewal projects on Dunhua N Road and Zhongxiao E Road are to dominate the market in Taipei, where the supply of land is scarce, it said, adding that a residential complex in Wenshan District (文山) aims to stimulate relocation demand to larger apartments with three and four bedrooms.
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) is to release a luxury home project offering apartments of 57 ping to 68 ping (188m2 to 225m2) on Chongqing S Road in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山), the publication said.
Urban renewal projects accounted for two major apartment complexes in New Taipei City — in Banciao District (板橋) and Tucheng District (土城) — while rezoning accounted for a large housing project in Sindian District (新店), it said.
Town-making in Keelung drives massive residential projects with more than 1,000 apartment units that require relatively low down payments of NT$560,000, it said.
The projects in Keelung and Taipei’s Wenshan would feature second and third batches, reflecting long-term confidence on the part of developers, which seek to spur relocation demand among first-time homebuyers whose families have grown over the years, Ho said.
The developers are betting that affordability and space would take precedence over location in purchase decisions, adding that the ratio of small apartments — the mainstream product in the past few years — is falling, he said.
It remains to be seen if the strategy will prove successful, he added.
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