The number of presale and new housing units on the market declined last quarter from the previous quarter, but selling prices continued to climb, defying policy measures to reverse the trend, a survey by Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設) showed yesterday.
The number of presale and new housing projects fell 22 percent from the fourth quarter of last year to 230 projects, while the overall number of housing units on the market fell 7.6 percent to 21,812, the quarterly survey showed.
The Taipei-based developer attributed the retreat to tightening measures by government agencies to rein in the property market.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
The central bank cut its loan-to-value ratios twice in the first quarter to 40 percent for corporate buyers and people who own four homes to make the market less attractive for speculative buyers, while the Ministry of Finance raised capital gains taxes to between 35 and 45 percent on properties resold within five years of purchase.
The finance ministry is also to levy punitive taxes on contract transfers for presale projects from July 1.
The housing market appeared to have cooled down in Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, judging by the supply, Cathay Real Estate said.
However, selling prices picked up as developers sought to pass rising raw material and labor costs to buyers, the analyst said, adding that it is too early to assess the impact of policies.
Housing prices averaged NT$308,100 per ping (3.3m2) nationwide, gaining 2.01 percent from three months earlier, while 30-day sales rates shed 2.41 percentage points to 11.71 percent, it said. Meanwhile, the room for price concessions widened by 0.79 percentage points to 13.45 percent, it added.
That meant the supply side grew more flexible in pricing to facilitate transactions, as lawmakers consider imposing hoarding taxes on multiple-home owners and the Ministry of the Interior plans revisions to public space requirement in residential complexes.
Taichung reported the steepest price hike of 3.62 percent to NT$266,400 per ping last quarter, as the city benefitted from the inauguration of its mass rapid transit system, the survey showed.
Hsinchu posted the second-steepest raise of 3.29 percent to NT$257,200 per ping, it showed
Prices in Taipei increased 2.78 percent to NT$889,800 per ping and those in New Taipei City advanced 0.51 percent to NT$402,400 per ping, while prices gained 0.68 percent to NT$269,000 per ping in Taoyuan, the survey showed.
Prices in Tainan rose 0.55 percent to NT$236,600 per ping, while prices in Kaohsiung increased 0.46 percent to NT$240,700 per ping, it showed.
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