Housing transactions in the six special municipalities fell 11.2 percent sequentially last month to 22,439 units, as buyers turned more cautious amid higher interest rates and unfavorable government policies, real-estate brokers said on Monday.
The figure represented a 0.9 percent increase compared with the same period last year, based on data compiled by the six local governments.
Taipei, Taoyuan, Tainan and Kaohsiung all reported double-percentage declines to 2,747, 3,687, 1,933 and 3,389 units respectively last month, when the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday cut working days by three, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said in a press release.
Photo: CNA
An interest rate hike of 0.25 percentage points in March and the Executive Yuan’s approval of a proposal to heavily fine “dishonest marketing practices” affected sentiment, Tseng said.
The central bank on March 17 raised interest rates by 25 basis points and is widely believed to be planning further tightening measures like its peers around the world to combat inflation.
Consumer prices have climbed above the 2 percent alert level for seven straight months and might not come down until the second half of the year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics has said.
Property transfers in New Taipei City were relatively resilient, posting a 5 percent decline to 6,113 units, Tseng said, adding that Taichung posted an 8 percent fall to 4,570 units.
Tseng voiced concern that the market would worsen this month, as people avoid going out after daily COVID-19 cases hit more than 20,000 yesterday.
A recovery is unlikely until the infection numbers stabilize, he said.
Health authorities have forecast that millions of Taiwanese would be infected before the outbreak can be brought under control, likely in the middle of next month.
In the first four months of the year, housing transactions in the six special municipalities hit a nine-year high of 87,360 units, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, data showed.
That was led by increases of 5.3 percent in New Taipei City, 4.9 percent in Taichung, 4.6 percent in Tainan and 2.8 percent in Kaohsiung, the data showed.
Taipei reported a minimal increase of 0.4 percent but Taoyuan saw a 0.3 percent decrease, the data showed.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along
RSS