Property market cooling continues, 591.com says
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
Taiwan’s housing market is showing further signs of cooling, with developers sharply scaling back planned launches for the autumn sales season as tighter credit controls and weakening demand weigh on the sector.
Developers are planning 246 projects nationwide in the upcoming fall sales season, down 21.2 percent from a year earlier, according to online property listing platform 591.com (591新建案) operated by Addcn Technology Co (數字科技).
The total value of planned projects is expected to shrink 23.3 percent to NT$545.2 billion (US$17.28 billion) from NT$710.65 billion last year, the lowest level in six years, the platform said.
Residential buildings and buildings under construction are pictured in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District on Tuesday last week.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
The decline reflects developers’ growing caution, with postponing new projects becoming a key strategy, as financing conditions tighten and buyers remain on the sidelines, it said.
Developers are increasingly focusing on selling existing inventory rather than adding new supply, meaning the market is likely to remain in consolidation next quarter, with owner-occupier demand and selected projects by major developers providing much of the support, it added.
Among major cities, only Hsinchu City and Taipei are expected to see growth in project value, 591.com said.
Hsinchu City is set to record the biggest increase, with project value surging 2.25 times to NT$60.81 billion even as the number of projects remains unchanged. The increase partly reflects a low comparison base and several major developments in affluent districts.
Taipei is also bucking the downturn. Although the number of projects is declining, total project value is expected to rise about 30 percent to NT$149.75 billion, driven by a major development in Nangang District (南港). Excluding that project, launch value would decline, 591.com said.
New Taipei City’s project value is expected to fall about 40 percent to NT$135.47 billion despite major developments in Taishan (泰山), Linkou (林口) and Yonghe (永和) districts, it said.
Taoyuan’s project count and value are expected to drop about 30 percent to NT$103.37 billion, with only one project exceeding NT$10 billion in potential sales, it said.
The slowdown is steeper in central and southern Taiwan, with Taichung’s project value expected to plunge about 50 percent to NT$56.93 billion, falling below NT$100 billion for the first time over the past few years, while new launches are increasingly concentrated in well-established districts, 591.com said.
Tainan’s project count is relatively stable, but potential sales are expected to fall 40 percent to NT$17.78 billion, while Kaohsiung faces the steepest decline, with project value plunging 66.6 percent to NT$21.09 billion, it said.
Kaohsiung’s development hotspots are also shifting, with Nanzih (楠梓) and Zuoying (左營) districts — beneficiaries of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) plant expansions — giving way to more central areas such as Fongshan District (鳳山), it said.
The shift highlights developers’ move away from investment-driven hotspots toward more stable end-user demand as the housing market enters a prolonged adjustment, it added.
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