Commercial property transactions last quarter gained 14.3 percent from three months earlier to NT$31.32 billion (US$1.12 billion), while land deals jumped 15.8 percent to NT$77.5 billion, propelled by demand for commercial and industrial office spaces, as well as factories, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan (戴德梁行) said yesterday.
In the first three quarters of the year, commercial property deals totaled NT$105.07 billion, already surpassing the figure for the whole of last year, the local branch of the US property consultancy said.
Cash-loaded life insurance companies contributed NT$6.95 billion, or 22 percent, in the July-to-September period, the broker said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽) spent NT$2.33 billion on an office building in Hsinchu City, Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽) acquired an office building in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) for NT$3.4 billion and CTBC Asset Management Co (中信資產) won an auction for an office building in Taipei’s Neihu District for NT$2.21 billion, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan said.
Also last quarter, Holiday Garden Hotel’s (華園大飯店) property near Liuhe Tourist Night Market (六合夜市) in Kaohsiung and Fushin Hotel’s (富信大飯店) outlet in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止) changed hands for NT$2.7 billion and NT$1.85 billion respectively, it said.
Hotels have been hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions and more are seeking buyers, it said.
Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan managing director Billy Yen (顏炳立) said that the commercial market this year might match last year’s record of NT$130 billion, driven by robust self-occupancy needs amid a supply glut.
Land deals have been hot, with an average quarterly volume of NT$73.8 billion for the past two-and-a-half years, the consultancy said.
Taoyuan outperformed other counties and cities last quarter with NT$28.3 billion of land transactions, thanks to the release of public land by the local government to better utilize assets, it said.
Commercial land accounted for 48.5 percent of overall deals as major developers vied for plots in emerging business districts such as Taipei’s Nangang District (南港), Taoyuan’s Chingpu District (青埔) and Taichung’s Shuinan Economic and Trade Park (水湳經貿園區), it said.
All are benefiting from improving transportation convenience and other infrastructure projects, it said.
It is unlikely that property prices would fall, given increasingly expensive building materials and land costs, Yen said.
The housing market, especially in second-tier locations, has recovered after a COVID-19 outbreak, which began in May, while luxury apartments remain affected by virus concerns and credit tightening measures, he said, adding that low interest rates and sufficient liquidity have supported the real-estate market.
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