Mortgages extended by domestic banks last month increased NT$42.15 billion (US$1.41 billion) from March, decelerating from an increase of NT$46.47 billion in the previous month, data released by the central bank showed yesterday.
On an annual basis, mortgages rose NT$907.67 billion, or 8.8 percent, the slowest annual increase since April last year, when they gained 9.12 percent, the data showed.
The figures suggest that the overheated housing market is showing signs of cooling, as lenders continue to bolster risk controls and become more cautious in extending new loans, while home-buying interest weakens amid uncertainties wrought by the US government’s tariff policy, the central bank said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Earlier this month, the latest data compiled by local land administration agencies showed that housing transactions in the six special municipalities decreased 24.34 percent year-on-year to 64,911 units in the first four months of the year, the lowest for the same period over the past seven years.
Among the six cities, transactions in Tainan and Kaohsiung in the first four months hit eight-year lows at 5,956 and 10,504 units, down 35.9 percent and 28.2 percent respectively from the same period a year earlier, while New Taipei City registered the lowest number of deals in the past nine years at 13,986 units, an annual decline of 33.7 percent, the data showed.
Even so, central bank data showed that mortgages had increased every month since early 2023, pushing the outstanding balance to a fresh record high of NT$11.22 trillion last month. The balance has been above the NT$11 trillion mark for six straight months.
Meanwhile, construction loans — an indicator of real-estate developers’ confidence in the sector — increased by NT$10.61 billion last month from the previous month, sending the outstanding balance to NT$3.44 trillion, central bank data showed.
Compared with a year earlier, construction loans last month rose by NT$94.6 billion, or 2.83 percent, which were slower than the 2.97 percent growth in the previous month and also marked the slowest increase since August last year, when they gained 3.53 percent, the data showed.
The decelerating growth in loans — which include funds for new construction projects, land purchases and working capital — indicates a conservative stance among builders and developers, as they face an uncertain macro climate and become more cautious in the use of funds following a series of regulatory tightening measures introduced by the central bank, it said.
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