The nation’s rent index last month climbed to a record 106.77, suggesting a pickup of 2.07 percent on average from a year earlier, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said yesterday, citing government data.
The increase was fastest in southern Taiwan, with a 2.36 percent advance, followed by 2.1 percent in northern Taiwan, 1.92 percent in eastern Taiwan and 1.84 percent in central Taiwan, Sinyi said.
Tenants might feel the pinch more acutely than the readings have suggested, as the uptick added to the overall financial burden caused by COVID-19 restrictions weighing on economic activity and household incomes, Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Rising property prices and wages in the past few years have helped drive up rent rates, while a stable housing supply also lent support, Tseng said.
The government has been offering rent subsidies to disadvantaged tenants to ease financial pressure, he said.
Although rents have continued to increase, they remain moderate compared with mortgage payments, Tseng said.
The phenomenon could cause people to prefer renting over buying, especially if the central bank raises interest rates on mortgages above 2 percent, he said.
An interest rate hike in December could lift interest rates to 2 percent, Tseng said, adding that landlords would most likely pass the extra financial burden on to tenants.
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