Average home prices last quarter topped NT$10 million (US$327,054) in Taiwan’s major cities, despite a slowdown in transactions amid economic uncertainty, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said yesterday.
Average home prices surpassed NT$10 million in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu city and county, Sinyi said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center.
FIRST TIME
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
It is the first time the Hsinchu area joined the ranking, indicating that people are becoming more amenable to the price point, Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said in a statement.
Home prices rose by an average of NT$2.83 million and NT$4.11 million in Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County respectively from October to December last year, compared with four years earlier, Tseng said.
The pace is faster than an average gain of NT$1.83 million in New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Tainan, he added.
“Even though the housing market slowed down in the second half of last year, developers pressed ahead to deliver pre-sale homes and pushed up overall housing prices to record highs,” Tseng said.
Price hikes were most evident in areas where major technology firms launched new plants, creating well-paying jobs, namely Hsinchu, Tainan and Kaohsiung, he said.
A person who buys a NT$10 million home could take out a mortgage of up to NT$8 million, which would translate into monthly mortgage payments of NT$30,000 based on a 30-year mortgage plan with an interest rate of 2 percent, Tseng said.
‘REASONABLE’
The payments would account for a “reasonable” 33 percent of an average annual household income of NT$1.2 million, he said, adding that shorter mortgage durations could lead to unaffordability.
However, sentiment appeared divided over transactions in a poll released last month by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), after the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Equalization of Land Rights Act (平均地權條例) in January to curb speculation in the property market.
According to the survey conducted from Feb. 1 to 7, the index assessing interest in selling homes fell from minus-19.3 in January to minus-20.6 last month, while the index evaluating willingness to buy homes rose from minus-57.8 in January to minus-54.1 last month.
Additional reporting by CNA
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