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.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new