Transactions of residential and commercial property in Taiwan’s six largest cities rose almost 28 percent in September from the previous month as the local property market climbed out of a slump due to COVID-19 concerns, according to the six local governments.
Data compiled by the local governments showed that transactions of homes, shops, and offices in the six cities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — reached 21,385 units in September, up 27.7 percent from a month earlier after a 4.8 percent month-on-month decline in August.
Charlene Chang (???), a section chief of Taiwan Realty Enterprise, said the implementation of a Level 3 alert by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in response to the domestic COVID-19 outbreak in mid-May, which restricted people’s movements, had an adverse effect on the local property market.
After the CECC lowered the alert to Level 2 in late July as the pandemic came under control with the vaccination rate increasing, Chang said, the local property market started showing signs of revival as seen in September’s sales figures.
Ample liquidity in the current low-interest rate environment also served as a driver for the increase in housing sales in September, Chang said.
“Housing transactions in September largely resulted from deferred buying from the previous few months on the back of growing consumer confidence,” Chang said.
However, September transactions were still down 12.2 percent from a year earlier, the data indicated.
In September, sales of homes, shops and offices in Taipei, the most closely watched property market in the country, rose 27.7 percent from a month earlier to 2,487 units, but this was still a decline of 20.6 percent from a year earlier.
Housing transactions in New Taipei and Taoyuan, both in the north, and Taichung in central Taiwan totaled 5,236, 3,753 and 4,011 units, respectively, in September. These figures were up 18.7 percent, 26.2 percent and 36.9 percent, respectively, from a month earlier, but down 17.3 percent, 14.5 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
In southern Taiwan, where the impact from COVID-19 appeared limited, Tainan and Kaohsiung recorded both a month-on-month increase of 18.5 percent and 40.7 percent, respectively, in housing transactions, and a year-on-year increase of 4.2 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Residential and commercial property sales in Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 2,221 and 3,677 units, respectively, in September.
Tseng Ching-der (???), a research manager with Sinyi Realty Inc., said as the process for completing property transactions will take a month or so, he expected the sales growth momentum to continue into October.
Echoing Tseng, Chang said the local property market has entered a traditional peak season in the fourth quarter and momentum is expected to be sustainable on the back of interest from buyers for residency purposes, even as the local central bank came up with more select credit control measures in September.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel