《TAIPEI TIMES》 House loans hit record, despite slowing growth

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The nation’s house loans and land financing last month climbed to record highs, but at the weakest pace in 19 months and 33 months respectively, as developers and buyers turned cautious amid interest rate hikes and economic uncertainty, the central bank said on Thursday.

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Home loans increased by NT$41.88 billion （US$1.39 billion）, or 8.64 percent, from a year earlier, the central bank told an online news conference.

As long as there are transactions, the house loan balance will pick up, the monetary policymaker said.

However, the pace has dropped below NT$50 billion for the past two months, reflecting a gradual slowdown in purchasing interest, central bank officials said.

Slowing house transactions lent support to the sentiment retreat, it said, adding that property deals in the nation’s six special municipalities last month tumbled 12.53 percent, widening from a 6.73 percent fall in June.

Transactions also slipped year-to-date into contraction zone, it noted.

Interest rate hikes, selective credit controls and unfavorable tax terms weighed on sentiment, the officials said.

Interest rates on new mortgages last month jumped above 1.7 percent, the highest in four years, following rate hikes of 0.125 percent in June and 0.25 percent in March.

The rates are expected to rise further this month as some lenders adjust lending terms on a quarterly basis, so that last month’s rates do not fully reflecting existing policy rates, the central bank said.

Analysts are looking at interest rates of 2 percent for mortgage operations at the end of the year, as they believe the central bank would raise policy rates by another 25 basis points to narrow the gap between Taiwan’s rate and that of the US Federal Reserve.

Similarly, land financing last month grew 12.53 percent year-on-year, mitigating for the past one to two years, the central bank said.

Developers grew increasingly apprehensive over spiking construction costs and labor shortages, and many slowed the pace of construction and product launches, the central bank said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES