Most major property brokers saw a significant pickup in housing transactions this month, recovering from a slump last month when the Lunar New Year holiday cut working days and dampened buying interest.
Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋), the nation’s largest broker by the number of offices, said existing house deals last month spiked 46 percent from one month earlier, as prospective buyers with real demand resumed house-hunting after the holiday.
Hsinchu County reported the biggest increase of 62 percent, followed by advances of more than 50 percent in Taipei and New Taipei City, Evertrust assistant research manager Chen Chin-ping (陳金萍) said last week.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Transactions rose more than 40 percent in Taoyuan and Taichung, and climbed more than 20 percent in Tainan and Kaohsiung, Chen said.
The monthly gains had a lot to do with the low comparison base caused by the holiday, Chen said, adding that while people turned more active in house-hunting, many hesitated to make offers in expectation of price corrections.
Houses priced NT$10 million to NT$20 million (US$328,084 to US$656,168) were the mainstream products in Taipei, while properties that cost NT$8 million to NT$15 million were popular in New Taipei City and Taoyuan, he said.
Prospective buyers in Tainan and Kaohsiung favored homes priced NT$5 million to NT$15 million, Chen said.
Transactions in the first two months of this year shrank 26 percent from the same period last year, indicating a continued downturn that emerged in the second half of last year amid interest rate hikes and economic uncertainty, she said.
Chinatrust Real Estate Co (中信房屋) also reported that transactions this month rose 40.5 percent monthly, but deals during the first two months fell 27.6 percent from a year earlier.
The property market was affected by volatility on the local bourse, monetary tightening and a listless economy, compared with a year earlier, Chinatrust Real Estate said last week, adding that it is more helpful to analyze data from the first two months to eliminate holiday disruptions.
The negative sentiment also affected people with real demand as shown by longer consideration periods to close deals, Chinatrust said.
Consideration periods lengthened by an average of 12.5 days in the six special municipalities, it said.
H&B Realty Co (住商不動產), the nation’s largest broker by the number of franchises, said transactions fell 45.5 percent monthly, suggesting a challenging year ahead.
H&B research head Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨) said buyers are still in the holiday mood, due to the Taiwan Lantern Festival and the 228 Memorial Day holiday.
A few sellers showed flexibility over price concessions, but prices generally held firm, Hsu said.
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