Average home prices last quarter topped NT$10 million (US$327,054) in Taiwan’s major cities, despite a slowdown in transactions amid economic uncertainty, Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) said yesterday.
Average home prices surpassed NT$10 million in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu city and county, Sinyi said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center.
FIRST TIME
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
It is the first time the Hsinchu area joined the ranking, indicating that people are becoming more amenable to the price point, Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德) said in a statement.
Home prices rose by an average of NT$2.83 million and NT$4.11 million in Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County respectively from October to December last year, compared with four years earlier, Tseng said.
The pace is faster than an average gain of NT$1.83 million in New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Tainan, he added.
“Even though the housing market slowed down in the second half of last year, developers pressed ahead to deliver pre-sale homes and pushed up overall housing prices to record highs,” Tseng said.
Price hikes were most evident in areas where major technology firms launched new plants, creating well-paying jobs, namely Hsinchu, Tainan and Kaohsiung, he said.
A person who buys a NT$10 million home could take out a mortgage of up to NT$8 million, which would translate into monthly mortgage payments of NT$30,000 based on a 30-year mortgage plan with an interest rate of 2 percent, Tseng said.
‘REASONABLE’
The payments would account for a “reasonable” 33 percent of an average annual household income of NT$1.2 million, he said, adding that shorter mortgage durations could lead to unaffordability.
However, sentiment appeared divided over transactions in a poll released last month by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), after the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Equalization of Land Rights Act (平均地權條例) in January to curb speculation in the property market.
According to the survey conducted from Feb. 1 to 7, the index assessing interest in selling homes fell from minus-19.3 in January to minus-20.6 last month, while the index evaluating willingness to buy homes rose from minus-57.8 in January to minus-54.1 last month.
Additional reporting by CNA
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
TECH SECURITY: The deal assures that ‘some of the most sought-after technology on the planet’ returns to the US, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said The administration of US President Joe Biden finalized its CHIPS Act incentive awards for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), marking a major milestone for a program meant to bring semiconductor production back to US soil. TSMC would get US$6.6 billion in grants as part of the contract, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. Though the amount was disclosed earlier this year as part of a preliminary agreement, the deal is now legally binding — making it the first major CHIPS Act award to reach this stage. The chipmaker, which is also taking up to US$5 billion
RSS