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Weak demand and rising unsold inventory has caused developers to step back from large-scale projects with amplified risk, an expert said
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By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
Taiwan’s cooling housing market is diverging sharply from the buoyant stock market, as tighter mortgage restrictions and government measures aimed at curbing speculation weigh on buyer confidence and prompt developers to scale back new projects in the greater Taipei area, My Housing Monthly (住展雜誌) said yesterday.
New residential project launches in Taipei and New Taipei City totaled NT$108.1 billion (US$3.43 billion) in the first four months of this year, down 53.7 percent from a year earlier, a survey by the publication showed.
The number of new projects unveiled fell to 40 from 90 a year earlier, with both cities seeing supply and projected sales values about halved.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The weakness stands in stark contrast to Taiwan’s equity market, where the benchmark TAIEX surged past the 40,000-point mark during the same period, generating abundant liquidity that in previous cycles often spilled into property markets, the publication said.
“Historically, strong gains in equities tended to fuel housing demand,” My Housing Monthly research director and spokesman Chen Ping-chen (陳炳辰) said.
He cited 2019, when Taiwan stocks reclaimed the 10,000-point level and helped ignite a housing boom, particularly in Hsinchu City, where buyers lined up for presale projects.
A similar pattern re-emerged in 2024 after the TAIEX climbed above 20,000 points, with some residential developments selling out shortly after launch, Chen said.
However, this time, the property market has moved in the opposite direction.
Strict mortgage lending standards adopted by banks, coupled with the central bank’s ongoing effort to rein in speculative activity, have significantly dampened sentiment in the housing market, Chen said.
Weak buyer demand and rising unsold inventory have further discouraged developers from bringing new projects to market, he said.
Although Taiwan’s stock market repeatedly hit record highs over the past two years, developers have maintained a cautious stance as financing conditions remain tight.
Developers have shown particularly little appetite for large-scale launches in Taipei, where elevated housing prices have amplified market risks.
In New Taipei City, several projects were brought to market after repeated delays, underscoring the pressure facing builders, Chen said.
One exception emerged in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), where a small-scale project sold out quickly, largely due to its limited supply of just 14 units and a shortage of competing new developments in the area.
The isolated case should not be interpreted as evidence of a broader market recovery, Chen said.
Still, several large-scale projects are expected to enter the market later this year in central districts of Taipei and New Taipei City. While those developments benefit from prime locations and established developer brands, their sizable scale could add to inventory pressure in an already sluggish market, Chen said.
