Keelung Housing Market Sees 'Taipei Buyers Enter, Keelung Residents Leave' Phenomenon

Keelung's housing market is experiencing a unique phenomenon where rising prices in Taipei and New Taipei City are pushing buyers toward Keelung, while Keelung's own residents, particularly the younger generation, are moving to the greater Taipei area if their finances allow. This creates a distinct pattern of "Taipei/New Taipei buyers entering Keelung, and Keelung residents heading to Taipei/New Taipei."

The city's geography, with its mountainous terrain and limited flat land, coupled with insufficient local job opportunities, has historically led about a third of its residents to commute to Taipei and New Taipei for work. This has shaped a peculiar housing market dynamic.

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Taipei/New Taipei buyers entering Keelung, and Keelung residents heading to Taipei/New Taipei.

Local developers in Keelung, often small to medium-sized, typically build projects catering to the local population, releasing only one or two developments over several years. In contrast, developers from outside the region leverage greater capital to launch extensive "town-building" projects. These large-scale developments primarily target buyers from Taipei and New Taipei, rather than the local populace, creating two divergent market strategies.

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The areas with the highest average incomes in 2024 are now associated with major housing developments and redeveloped zones.

The arrival of these external buyers is visibly changing Keelung's economic landscape. The areas with the highest average incomes in 2024 are now associated with major housing developments and redeveloped zones like "Chen Shang Cheng," "New Yokohama," "Good Morning Guoyuan," and "Shu Xue Yuan," as well as the Shenao Pit redevelopment area. This indicates that the influx of new residents is reshaping the region's wealth distribution.

While these new developments often focus on areas with better living environments or proximity to highways to attract Taipei buyers, long-term commuters from Keelung are also increasingly valuing convenient transportation and are beginning to participate in purchasing homes in these larger projects. However, for many long-time Keelung residents, the traditional "golden districts" remain in the Ren'ai and Xinyi districts, centered around the Tianliao River, the night market, and the Ren'ai Market. These older urban areas have limited new construction, and existing homes are not cheap, leading to a dual market where older districts maintain value while redeveloped zones attract buyers from the greater Taipei area.

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Old districts maintain value while redeveloped zones attract buyers from the greater Taipei area.