Housing transactions in the six special municipalities last month plunged 34.9 percent from January, as the Lunar New Year holiday, expected changes in global monetary policy and geopolitical tensions drove people to the sidelines, real-estate brokers said.
The number of transactions totaled 15,646 in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. All municipalities, with the exception of Taipei, saw a retreat of more than 30 percent, local government data showed.
Taipei posted a decline of 29.6 percent with 1,915 deals.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung reported the biggest tumble of 36.6 percent to 2,437 units, followed by Taoyuan’s 36.4 percent decrease to 2,762 units and Tainan’s 36 percent decline to 1,430 units, government data showed.
Taichung dropped 33.3 percent to 3,116 units.
The poor showings were a result of Taiwanese spending the week-long Lunar New Year holiday mostly with family and on recreational activities, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) said.
“Although Taiwan’s economic barometers remained strong, people turned conservative ahead of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve to curb inflation,” Evertrust researcher Chen Chin-ping (陳金萍) said.
Inflationary pressures grew worse after Russia invaded Ukraine, casting a shadow over oil and grain supplies, as Russia is a major exporter of the products.
The central bank has said it would embark on monetary normalization if all sectors emerge from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It might introduce more tightening measures to induce a soft landing for housing prices as public complaints over unaffordability mount.
Potential home buyers should avoid overleveraging when making purchase decisions, even though interest rates are at a record low, Chen said.
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), Taiwan’s only listed broker, said it is better to look at the property market by combining data for the first two months to strip seasonal noises.
Transactions held steady at 39,664 units in January and February, compared with 39,581 in the same period last year, Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾進德) said.
The southern municipalities of Tainan and Kaohsiung both posted a 6 percent increase, thanks to the arrival of high-tech plants that would create well-paid jobs, Tseng said, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) capacity expansion plans.
Housing transactions would gain momentum this month, the analyst said, adding that developers and builders are about to launch spring promotion campaigns.
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