Higher Prices, More Desire for Houses: Changhua Residents' Buying Habits Unchanged, 'This Area' Becomes a Dark Horse

In Taiwan's Changhua region, a unique housing market trend persists where demand for traditional multi-story houses, known as "tou tian cuo," remains strong despite a national shift towards apartment complexes.

While high housing prices, land scarcity, and rising construction costs have made apartment buildings the mainstream choice across Taiwan, Changhua's real estate market shows a different picture. Data from actual sales registrations indicates that multi-story houses still accounted for nearly 40% of new housing supply in the first quarter of this year. Transaction volumes have remained steady, with Huatan township emerging as a significant growth area.

Huatan has experienced a nearly twofold increase in housing transactions compared to the quarterly average of last year. This growth is largely attributed to improved transportation infrastructure, particularly the Taichung-Changhua Expressway (台74甲線), which has effectively connected the township to the Taichung metropolitan area. This has attracted buyers seeking homes that offer independent living spaces and are conveniently located for commuting.

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Although land and construction costs have continued to rise in recent years, and the residential market across Taiwan is gradually developing towards apartment buildings, Changhua residents still have a high preference for multi-story housing, especially valuing independent space and living quality.

Other areas in southern Changhua, such as Puxin and Shetou, also saw transaction performances better than last year's average, influenced by the East Changhua Expressway. However, core areas like Yuanlin City and Dacun Township experienced a decline in transactions, suggesting market saturation and a shift of some buyers towards more affordable "suburban" areas. The area around the High-Speed Rail station in Tianzhong Township remained stable.

Developers are noting this persistent demand. For example, the "Gereisong Huayuan" project in Huatan, featuring 46 multi-story houses and 10 commercial units, is nearly 60% presold. A site supervisor noted that despite rising land and construction costs, Changhua residents highly prefer multi-story houses for their emphasis on private space and quality of life. This preference is evident across various townships, where high-priced transactions are still frequently dominated by multi-story house sales.

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The transaction share of multi-story products has always remained around 30% to 40% in Changhua County's actual transaction data over the past five years, and there has been a trend of increase this year, indicating that the "house with sky and land" housing type still has stable rigid demand in the Changhua market.