Presale and new housing prices last quarter climbed 6.01 percent to NT$458,600 (US$15,323) per ping (3.3m2), although transactions slumped 29.71 percent as COVID-19 infections and interest rate hikes fueled caution on the part of developers and buyers, a survey by Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設) showed on Wednesday.
Developers and builders released 187 projects offering 16,473 new housing units that could generate NT$290.8 billion in sales, a 23.9 percent fall from the first quarter, on the central bank’s liquidity tightening policy and expectations that buying interest would weaken amid spiking COVID-19 infections, Cathay said.
However, asking prices rose in the municipalities of Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, and in Hsinchu county and city, with New Taipei City seeing a fractional 0.11 percent decline to NT$496,700 per ping, it said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Taoyuan reported the steepest price advance of 16.35 percent to NT$385,000 per ping as soaring building material prices and relative affordability provided developers with enough comfort to adopt a bold pricing strategy, Cathay said.
New housing prices gained 11.17 percent to NT$409,500 per ping in Hsinchu County and increased 8.98 percent to NT$422,200 per ping in Taichung, it said.
Prices grew 5.39 percent to NT$284,600 per ping in Tainan and scaled up 5.28 percent to NT$305,100 in Kaohsiung, it added.
The gauge on price concessions widened mildly by 1.21 percentage points to 8.93 percent, indicating the supply side generally refused to budge despite heightening economic headwinds, Cathay said.
The property market is likely to enter a consolidation phase, with room for price gains squeezed by inflation, interest rate hikes, unfavorable lending terms and ongoing COVID-19 infections, it said.
November’s elections of local administrators could also drive buyers to the sidelines amid political uncertainty, considering that candidates tend to pledge measures to mitigate housing unaffordability while campaigning, it said.
Separately, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) on Tuesday reported that net income fell 36.11 percent year-on-year to NT$313 million last quarter, as a COVID-19 outbreak and interest rate hikes dampened buying interest.
Earnings per share were NT$0.43 last quarter, compared with NT$0.67 a year earlier, when a level 3 COVID-19 alert kept people at home, Sinyi said, adding that for the first half of this year, net income decreased 16.77 percent year-on-year to NT$791 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.07.
Significant housing price gains across Taiwan and the central bank’s monetary tightening have made people more cautious this year, Sinyi said, adding that the central bank has asked people to be careful about financial leveraging.
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