The nation’s housing market is showing signs of developing a potential asset bubble, but urban renewal could help raise housing supply in Taipei and drive down property prices, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said yesterday.
Following central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan’s (彭淮南) remarks in the legislature last week, Chang is the second head of a financial and economic government agency to express concern over the high property prices in Taipei in two weeks.
“Housing prices in Taipei are very high,” Chang said during a legislative question-and-answer session.
The ratio of home prices to incomes averaged 12.4 in Taipei in the second quarter, much higher than the international standard of 5, data from the Ministry of the Interior showed.
In addition, the return on investment for housing rentals in Taipei has been on a downward trend, indicating some risks of a property bubble.
Chang said a shortage of housing supply has been the major factor behind the continuous rise in property prices in the capital, with data showing that housing demand in Taipei exceeds supply by about 80,000 households.
That makes urban renewal a necessity as it could increase housing supply in Taipei by building new apartments with more floors and units.
While demand in New Taipei City (新北市) falls short of supply by more than 70,000 households, Chang said overall demand in the two cities is in line with supply, an indication that extending the mass transportation system to suburban Taipei would also help solve the issue in the long run.
Meanwhile, the ministry is planning to implement new rules concerning income tax revenue on housing sales in Taipei to raise taxes on luxury properties and curb speculative transactions, are which are expected to take effect next year.
However, various lawmakers questioned the ministry’s decision to limit the expansion of the luxury tax in its latest revision of the regulation.
Last month, the minister said the ministry would not change the luxury tax on real estate resold within two years to property resold within three years or more.
Chang said the ministry decided not to change the tax too much because of concerns over the continuing sluggish economic sentiment.
Following the ministry’s submission of a revised draft on the property tax to the Cabinet for review in the current legislative session, Chang said he expects housing prices in Taipei to show a slight increase in the next six months.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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