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.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
RSS