More than 60 percent of Taiwanese expect housing prices to climb this quarter, a sharp increase from three months earlier, as concerns about COVID-19 infections drastically subside, a survey by Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) found last week.
The rapid increase in the vaccination rate also supported respondents’ confidence in a recovery, said the Taipei-based broker, the largest in Taiwan by number of offices.
Sixty-three percent of respondents were expecting housing prices to increase, up from 42 percent in the second quarter, during which authorities raised the COVID-19 alert to level 3, thereby reducing buying interest for the next few months, Evertrust’s quarterly survey said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
The government has since late July eased disease prevention measures, it said, adding that people have by and large resumed house hunting.
Nearly 30 percent of respondents said it would be wise to join the market in the second half of this year, while 24 percent said it would be better to take action in the first half of next year.
That suggests that more than 50 percent of people think they should take advantage of the record-low interest rate and sufficient liquidity caused by a stable economy, Evertrust said.
Housing prices increased more than 10 percent in many parts of Taiwan over the past year, although they grew only 5 percent in Taipei and New Taipei City, Evertrust general manager Yeh Ling-chi (葉凌棋) said.
Prices increased by more than 20 percent in Tainan and Hsinchu City, where major technology firms have added to capacity and created well-paid jobs, Yeh said.
The trend has prompted the central bank to ban grace periods for purchases of second homes by individuals in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to cool the local property market.
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