Taiwan’s property transactions in the first half of this year fell 26.4 percent year-on-year to about 130,000 units, as credit controls and mortgage restrictions dampened demand, data from the Ministry of the Interior showed yesterday.
Keelung saw the steepest decline, with transactions plummeting 45.6 percent to just 2,041 units — the lowest since the ministry began its survey in 2006. In contrast, Miaoli County was the only region to experience year-on-year growth, with transactions rising 2.4 percent to 3,229 units.
Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) attributed the increase in deals in Miaoli, particularly Jhunan (竹南) and Toufen (頭份) townships, to spillover demand from neighboring Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County, where high prices have pushed some buyers to seek more affordable options further south.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
“The tech-driven housing demand that has long supported Hsinchu is now facing a reversal,” Great Home Realty researcher Lai Chih-chang (賴志昶) said. “Even in areas with solid underlying demand, the market has entered a wait-and-see phase, with buyers turning cautious.”
Following significant price increases in Hsinchu properties over the past few years, sellers are still largely unwilling to lower asking prices or incur capital gains taxes, despite expectations of price corrections, Lai said. As a result, supply has sharply decreased, and activity has slowed in once bustling areas such as Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County.
While property sales weakened, transfers through inheritance and gifting continued to rise, reflecting a structural shift toward intergenerational wealth transfer in an aging society, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said.
Inherited property transfers rose 5 percent to 39,000 units, while gifting transfers grew 4 percent to nearly 29,900 units in the first half of the year, the broker said.
“The rise in inheritance reflects Taiwan’s aging demographics,” Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said. “Gifting may also be tied to tax-saving strategies among spouses or family members.”
Meanwhile, court auction transfers fell 18 percent from a year earlier to 1,516 units, reflecting a low default rate and a limited supply of distressed assets, Tseng said.
The delinquency ratio on housing loans remains near historical lows, signaling continued financial stability despite the slump in conventional sales, he added.
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