《TAIPEI TIMES》 Housing sales in six municipalities rise 26％

PICKUP: Kaohsiung and Tainan posted the fastest growth due to housing affordability and a sharp rise in job opportunities due to the expansion of major tech companies

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

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Housing transactions in the six special municipalities totaled 26,833 units last month, up 25.6 percent from a year earlier and 17.1 percent higher than in April, as an economic recovery and the government’s property interest rate subsidy underpinned the pickup across Taiwan, real-estate brokers said on Monday.

The volume is the highest since January 2022, with all six municipalities reporting increases of double-digit percentages, Evertrust Rehouse Co （永慶房屋） deputy research head Chen Chin-ping （陳金萍） said, attributing the strong showing to Taiwan’s economic recovery and delivery of presale house projects by developers.

The government’s business climate monitor in April flashed “yellow-red” for the first time in two years, thanks to robust industrial production, imports of machinery equipment, private consumption and local share prices, the National Development Council said last week.

The pace of recovery is expected to gain better momentum going forward, with the high season for technology products approaching, major tech firms said.

Housing deals in Kaohsiung and Tainan reported the fastest annual growth of 47.3 percent and 45.6 percent to 5,194 and 2,843 units respectively, local government data showed.

Tainan and Kaohsiung have become more appealing due to their relative housing affordability and a sharp rise in job opportunities due to the expansion of major tech firms, Chen said.

Taichung also fared well with a 21.4 percent annual increase in home deals to 4,918 units, as improving transport and other infrastructure drew people to buy homes in central Taiwan, she said.

Housing deals surged 19.3 percent year-on-year to 6,636 units in New Taipei City and expanded 16.2 percent to 2,966 units in Taipei, while transactions in Taoyuan rose 14.8 percent to 4,276 units, data from respective administrations showed.

H&B Realty Co （住商不動產） chief researcher Jessica Hsu （徐佳馨） said the government’s interest subsidy for first-time home buyers continued to play an important role in shoring up transactions.

However, Hsu expressed concern that the central bank, which is due to review its monetary policy on Thursday next week, may introduce fresh measures to tighten lending terms if housing transactions and prices continue to gather traction.

The central bank reportedly met with housing brokers and bankers to gain a better understanding of the property market and mortgage operations.

The interest rate subsidy for first-home purchases and other favorable lending terms have come under criticism for negating credit controls and other tightening measures intended to cool the local property boom.

Total transactions in the six special municipalities during the first five months of this year increased 30 percent year-on-year to 112,630 units, the highest for the same period over the past 11 years, data showed.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES