A large majority of Taiwanese think that it is best to wait until economic uncertainty settles before entering the housing market, a survey by Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) said late last month.
In response, the real-estate broker trimmed its forecast for housing transactions to between 315,000 and 326,000 units this year, suggesting a decline of 6 to 10 percent from an estimate three months earlier.
The downward revision came after the number of people expecting a rise in house prices dropped to 38 percent this quarter, the lowest in nearly 2.5 years, while people expecting prices to decline climbed to 31 percent, the survey said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
The sentiment is credited to global inflation and monetary tightening, as 73 percent of the respondents expected the central bank to raise interest rates again in December, and 79 percent said interest rates of more than 2 percent were burdensome.
Rising house prices and higher mortgage rates prompted only 16 percent of the respondents to conclude that this year is a good time to join the market, whereas more than 80 percent thought that next year or 2024 would be a better time to buy a home.
Some people have abandoned plans to buy homes as a result of absorbing higher costs for food, clothing, transportation and other services, Evertrust said.
Interest rates could reach 2.2 percent later this year, the highest since 2008 ahead of the global financial crisis, it said.
Continued infections from COVID-19, interest rate hikes and a slowing local economy are expected to dampen purchase interests this year, it added.
Housing prices rose throughout Taiwan, with the advance most noticeable in Tainan as a result of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) capacity expansion, Evertrust said.
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