Taiwan’s property market cooled sharply last month, with housing transactions across the six special municipalities plunging, as central bank lending restrictions and US tariffs weighed on demand, brokers said.
Combined home transfers in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung fell 32.1 percent from a year earlier to 16,663 units, signaling a marked slowdown from last year’s brisk activity, according to Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), the nation’s only listed brokerage.
Taipei led the decline, with transactions sliding 33.4 percent to 1,704 units, while New Taipei City dropped 34.3 percent to 3,777 and Taoyuan fell 30.4 percent to 3,292, data from local land agencies showed.
Photo: Ho Hsiu-ling, Taipei Times
Taichung transactions slid 25.1 percent to 3,742 units, Tainan dropped 37.4 percent to 1,572, and Kaohsiung fell 35.4 percent to 2,576.
“The double-digit declines across all six special municipalities underscore a drastic cooling from previous market exuberance,” said Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德), research manager at Sinyi Realty. “Even traditionally resilient urban areas are not immune.”
The market has effectively entered a correction phase, with buyers largely staying on the sidelines, Tseng said, adding that future momentum would hinge on potential policy shifts — particularly whether the central bank would relax mortgage restrictions scheduled for review at the end of the year.
In August last year, the central bank urged lenders to voluntarily tighten home loans for a year after real estate lending approached record levels, citing risks that property loan concentration could crowd out financing for other sectors.
Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), head researcher at H&B Realty Co (住商不動產), said that upcoming deliveries of presale projects could exacerbate price pressures, urging prospective buyers to carefully assess their finances and property locations to avoid falling into negative equity.
Lenders have tightened requirements, demanding financial statements proving borrowers can meet mortgage obligations. Loan processing times have extended to six months from one-and-a-half months previously to curb real estate lending.
Hsu said the concentration of home loans remains a concern, prompting banks to maintain a cautious approach.
Meanwhile, upfront costs for homebuyers are rising, H&B Realty said.
The nationwide average down payment reached NT$3.43 million (US$111,625) in the first half of this year, up NT$235,000 from the same period last year, according to the broker.
The strain is most acute in Taipei, where young buyers face an average down payment of NT$6.68 million, the highest among the six special municipalities and nearly NT$1 million higher than a year earlier.
Lenders generally cap mortgages at 70 percent of a property’s value for first-time buyers, 50 percent for second-home purchases, and impose even stricter limits on multiple and luxury homes.
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