《TAIPEI TIMES》 Housing monitor teeters near a slowdown: report

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The climate monitor for the presale and new housing market in northern Taiwan last month held steady for a 15th straight month, but approached the brink of a slowdown amid tepid new project launches and buying interest, My Housing Monthly has found.

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The reading came in at 42.2, dropping 3.9 points from one month earlier and coming close to the threshold of 42 that indicates a sluggish state, the Chinese-language research publication said in a report released on Thursday.

“The market has a slim chance of improving this month as political uncertainty linked to the elections of local administrators and councilors dominates public attention,” My Housing Monthly research manager Chen Tsai-chi （成采錡） said.

Presale housing projects last month totaled NT$50 billion （US$1.55 billion）, but only a few met the NT$1.5 billion threshold to qualify as large project launches, Chen said.

In Taipei, only three projects — two in Beitou District （北投） and one in Nangang District （南港） — met the criteria.

In New Taipei City, five projects in Banciao （板橋）, Sanchong （三重）, Sindian （新店）, Linkou （林口） and Taishan （泰山） districts passed the threshold, it said.

Three projects in Taoyuan and one in Hsinchu also qualified.

At the same time, the market saw the entry of 100 newly completed apartment units, with only one building in Taipei’s Zongshan District （中山） valued at more than NT$1.5 billion, it said.

The data showed that developers sought to cope with listless sales by slowing the supply rather than cutting prices to facilitate transactions, Chen said.

Sales rates fell from 7.04 to 5.63, with 1.6 deals closed per week, compared with 2.1 in September, it said.

The reading on price concessions stood at 8.89, the same as one month earlier, with the room for price bargaining averaging 10.41 percent for presale projects, it said.

Housing reception sites saw fewer potential buyers at about 21.9 people per week, compared with 23.8 people one month earlier, it said, adding that heavy rainfall last month contributed to cooling buying interest.

Asking prices played an important role in determining buying interest, Chen said, adding that Taipei’s unaffordable housing prices scared away many prospective buyers.

Some reception sites in the capital saw no visitors at all, but suburban districts Beitou and Neihu proved the exception because of their relatively friendly asking prices, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES