Homes in Taiwan are 32 years old on average, with nearly 70 percent older than 25, while less than 35 percent have earthquake insurance, raising safety concerns, property analysts said yesterday.
The issue came to the forefront after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Taiwan’s east coast yesterday morning, killing nine and injuring more than 900.
“The government should accelerate urban renewal projects to improve building safety nationwide, as most buildings in Taiwan are not quake resistant,” H&B Realty Co (住商機構) said.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
As of December last year, almost 70 percent of houses in Taiwan were 25 years old, with the figure approaching 80 percent in Taipei, H&B head researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨) said, citing Ministry of the Interior data.
Homes are facing the same issue as the people of Taiwan, which is aging, meriting serious attention and a joint effort from all levels of government, Hsu said.
High-rise buildings constructed after 1999 — when a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in central Taiwan caused hundreds of deaths and injuries — are relatively safe, as developers introduced quake-resistant designs, she said, adding that houses built prior to 1999 remain susceptible to temblors and other natural disasters.
Houses in Taipei are 37.6 years old on average, meeting requirements for preferential building terms intended to facilitate urban renewal, and retirement of old and dilapidated buildings, Hsu said.
“Disasters will not wait and can strike without warning,” she said.
Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) said people should do research when hunting for a home to avoid those that are prone to soil liquefaction.
Houses in Hsinchu and Taoyuan are young compared with the other four special municipalities, with those that are at least 25 years old making up 50 and 56 percent of the total respectively, Great Home Realty said, citing government data.
That has to do with the increase of high-paying jobs in the tech sector, it said.
Liability from residential earthquake insurance policies in Taiwan total about NT$5.9 trillion (US$184.05 billion), with about 3.52 million policies in effect, or only 34.4 percent of households nationwide, H&B said, citing government data.
Taoyuan and Hsinchu have the greatest average earthquake insurance coverage, at 42.3 and 41.9 percent respectively, Hsu said, adding that homes in the two municipalities must have earthquake and fire insurance to qualify for mortgage applications.
Home owners who have paid off their mortgage generally refuse to get property insurance, exposing themselves to unexpected risks such as yesterday’s temblor, she said.
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