The number of housing transactions in Kaohsiung rose to a six-year high last month after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) announced its plan to build a wafer fab in the southern city, data compiled by Taiwan’s six special municipalities showed on Wednesday.
Transactions of homes and commercial real estate totaled 4,715 units, up 15.6 percent from a month earlier and up 26.1 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
The growth in Kaohsiung topped that of the other five municipalities.
Photo: CNA
Lin Chia-fu (林家福), who heads a Kaohsiung outlet of Taiwan Reality Co (台灣房屋), said that TSMC’s investment is expected to lead to a large number of job openings that would attract technology professionals, likely resulting in increased housing sales and rental deals.
TSMC is to build a new fab on a plot formerly used by a naphtha cracking plant owned by state-owned oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) in Nanzih District (楠梓), the chipmaker said.
Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin next year and mass production would start in 2024, TSMC said.
Analysts said that there had been rumors of such a plan for some time, prompting home buyers and property investors to increasingly acquire real estate in Kaohsiung even before the announcement.
With the presence of TSMC, Kaohsiung is expected to transform itself from an industrial city into a high-tech hub, Lin said.
Last month, transactions of residential and commercial property in the six special municipalities totaled 25,954 units, up 9 percent from a month earlier and up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, the statistics showed.
Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) research manager Mandy Lang (郎美囡) said the property market continued to benefit from low interest rates and concerns over inflation pressure, prompting Taiwanese to put their investment focus on the real-estate market.
Taipei registered 2,711 transactions, up 10.8 percent from a month earlier, but down 17.1 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Transactions in New Taipei City stood at 7,113 units, up 10.7 percent from a month earlier and up 17.6 percent from a year earlier, it showed.
Taoyuan registered 4,426 transactions, little changed from a month earlier, but up 3.5 percent from a year earlier, it showed.
Transactions in Taichung stood at 4,762 units, up 8.8 percent from a month earlier, but down 8.3 percent from a year earlier, it showed.
Sales in Tainan stood at 2,227 units, up 8.2 percent from a month earlier and up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, it showed.
H&B Business Group (住商不動產) research department head Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨) said the local property market is expected to get a boost from ample liquidity.
Hsu forecast that residential and commercial property transactions would top 350,000 units in Taiwan this year, compared with 326,589 last year.
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