Taiwan’s rapidly aging population is fueling a sharp increase in homes occupied solely by elderly people, a trend that is reshaping the nation’s housing market and social fabric, real-estate brokers said yesterday.
About 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident, the Ministry of the Interior said.
The figures have nearly doubled from a decade earlier, Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) said, as people aged 65 and older now make up 20.8 percent of the population.
Photo: CNA
“The so-called silver tsunami represents more than just a demographic shift — it could fundamentally redefine the balance of supply and demand in the housing market,” Great Home Realty research director Lai Chih-chang (賴志昶) said.
The phenomenon is evident across Taiwan’s six largest metropolitan areas.
Taipei had 116,000 elderly-occupied homes, up 71 percent from 2016, while the number in New Taipei City surged 108 percent to 165,000 — the highest nationwide, Lai said.
Taoyuan recorded the fastest expansion, rising 128 percent to 67,000 homes, followed by Taichung with 80,000 (up 111 percent). In southern Taiwan, Tainan’s elderly-only homes climbed 77 percent to 67,000, while Kaohsiung’s soared 91 percent to nearly 109,000.
A similar surge occurred in homes occupied by just one elderly person, government data showed.
Taipei recorded 89,000 such units, up 71 percent from 2016, while New Taipei City had 131,000, up 109 percent. Taoyuan again led with a 132 percent spike to 52,000 homes, followed by Taichung’s 60,000 (up 118 percent). The number of single-resident homes occupied by someone aged 65 or older also soared in Tainan and Kaohsiung, 84 percent and 95 percent respectively.
Lai attributed the acceleration to urban redevelopment, smaller household sizes and youth migration to new residential areas, leaving many elderly parents to live alone.
“In cities such as Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei City, new housing developments have coincided with a stronger trend of household separation, pushing up the number of elderly people living alone,” he said.
H&B Realty Co (住商不動產), Taiwan’s largest brokerage by franchise count, reported similar findings.
The rapid rise in single-resident households occupied by an elderly person underscores mounting pressure from an aging population and evolving family structures, H&B chief researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨) said.
Growing demand for age-friendly housing — particularly units with elevators, barrier-free layouts and proximity to healthcare services — is set to reshape Taiwan’s property landscape, she said.
As younger people move out, elderly parents are increasingly left behind, fueling housing demand centered on elderly-friendly facilities and accessible living environments, she said.
With elderly people projected to account for more than one-quarter of the population within the next decade, developers and policymakers face growing pressure to adapt urban planning, housing design and community care systems for an increasingly gray society.
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