Presale and new housing projects last quarter surged 38.1 percent from three months earlier nationwide, as the market emerged from a local COVID-19 outbreak, aided by excess liquidity and low interest rates, a survey by Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設) showed on Wednesday.
Developers and builders launched NT$339.2 billion (US$12.19 billion) of presale and newly completed houses on the market in the July-to-September quarter, the survey found.
The recovery in confidence was particularly evident in Kaohsiung, where presale projects and new houses grew 90.6 percent, followed by 83.5 percent in Taichung, 69.5 percent in New Taipei City and 57.2 percent in Taipei, it said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
However, presale and new housing projects declined 18.8 percent in Taoyuan, fell 46.4 percent in Hsinchu and plunged 37.6 percent in Tainan mainly due to high comparison bases, it said.
The sustained uptrend in house and land loans prompted the central bank last month to ban grace periods for second-home mortgages in the six special municipalities, as well as Hsinchu city and county, but unfavorable lending terms have failed to rein in real-estate lending so far, government data showed.
Potential closing home prices averaged NT$319,600 per ping (3.3m2) across the nation, climbing 4.05 percent from three months earlier, the survey showed.
The figures in Taipei rose 3.16 percent to NT$938,000 per ping, and edged up 1.1 percent in New Taipei City to NT$409,400 per ping.
Kaohsiung posted the biggest advance of 6.97 percent to NT$260,000 per ping, followed by Taichung with a 5.87 percent increase, but Taoyuan bucked the trend, declining 0.72 percent to NT$270,200 per ping, the survey showed.
Price concession rates shrank 3.28 percentage points to 10.17 percent in the third quarter, while the 30-day sales rate gained 5.05 percentage points to 16.5 percent, it said.
The market could receive continued support from ample liquidity and low borrowing costs, but the central bank could weigh in to prevent overheating, it said.
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