Presale and newly completed house prices last quarter picked up 18.1 percent on average in northern Taiwan, but the uptrend might come to an end next year if sales continue to stall, property researcher My Housing Monthly said in a report.
“This segment of the property market has seen a tumultuous year, but has held firm so far, despite unfavorable twists sprouting almost every month,” the Chinese-language publication’s research chief Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said, referring to interest rate hikes, punitive taxes on short-term property trading, selective credit controls and bans on preorder transfers.
Building material price hikes, labor shortages and a lack of selling pressure have prompted developers to adopt a bold pricing strategy, but a turnabout might be inevitable if sales rates disappoint for an extended period, Ho said, citing a noticeable gain in housing supply in the second half of the year.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Presale housing projects in Taipei averaged NT$1.06 million (US$33,246) per ping (3.3m2) during the July-to-September period, up 4.2 percent from three months earlier and 12.7 percent from a year earlier, the publication’s report showed.
The price hikes in the capital were broad-based, with presale projects in second-tier Wanhua District (萬華) for the first time commanding more than NT$1 million per ping and more than NT$700,000 per ping in Wenshan District (文山), Ho said.
Neighboring New Taipei City saw presale projects climbing 3.1 percent sequentially and 10.4 percent from a year earlier to a new peak of NT$460,000 per ping, Ho said, adding that presale prices have made records for the past four straight quarters.
Developers now demand more than NT$600,000 per ping for projects in Jhonghe (中和), making it the second-most expensive administrative district in New Taipei City after Yonghe (永和) and ahead of Banciao (板橋), Ho said.
Developers in Taoyuan assigned more importance to affordability in hopes of facilitating deals and therefore priced projects at NT$309,000 per ping, a mild 2 percent increase from the previous quarter, but a 19.8 percent spike from a year earlier, it said.
Presale projects in Hsinchu averaged NT$357,000 per ping, growing 7.9 percent from three months earlier and surging 44.5 percent from a year earlier, as its proximity to the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) attracted buying interest, it said.
It would be impossible for housing prices to rise forever and ongoing economic uncertainty might slow the upturn this quarter, triggering a price correction next year amid tepid sales, Ho said.
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