TAIPEI: Residential and commercial property transactions in northern Taiwan rebounded last month, rising more than 10 percent from a month earlier, after the central bank eased credit controls on the property market, according to industry statistics.
The data showed that transactions of homes, offices and shops in Taipei in the first 27 days of last month rose 14 percent from a month earlier, while sales in New Taipei City grew 12 percent month-on-month.
The data showed that housing transactions in Taiwan during the 27-day period rose 7 percent from a month earlier.
In Taoyuan, transactions of residential and commercial property jumped 37 percent in the same period.
Buying has been on the rise, with more buyers entering the property market after the central bank largely removed credit controls in late March, Sinyi Realty Inc research manager Tseng Ching-der said.
The central bank, in a policy meeting on March 24, decided to remove credit controls on all housing transactions except for “luxury” homes.
The measures lifted the mortgage ceiling of 60 percent that had been imposed on buyers of second properties in Taipei and certain districts in New Taipei City. Decision on mortgage conditions were left to individual banks.
However, the 60 percent mortgage ceiling was maintained for “luxury” homes — housing properties valued at more than NT$70 million (US$2.17 million) in Taipei, more than NT$60 million in New Taipei City and more than NT$40 million in the rest of the nation.
Sales in several Taipei districts, such as Songshan, Xinyi and Nangang , increased the most following the removal of the controls, statistics showed.
Due to rising optimism about the property market following the central bank’s decision, the decline in housing prices has shown signs of narrowing last month, Tseng said.
According to Sinyi Realty, the average home price in Taipei stood at NT$614,000 per ping (3.3m2), NT$344,000 in New Taipei City and NT$182,000 in Taoyuan.
Despite an increase in housing transactions in northern Taiwan, transactions in Taichung last month fell 14 percent from a month earlier, while transactions in Kaohsiung fell 17 percent.
However, transactions in Tainan rose 10 percent.
Tseng said that many property buyers have anticipated that home prices in Taichung and Kaohsiung would move even lower so they remained reluctant to enter the market.
