Taipei Old Apartments Gain Traction, Nangang Sees Biggest Share Increase

Old apartments in Taipei continue to draw buyers, with half of the city's 12 administrative districts seeing these older buildings constitute at least 30% of transactions over the last five years. Shilin District leads in this segment, with old apartments making up approximately 43.6% of sales.

However, a closer look at the changes reveals Nangang District experienced the most significant rise in old apartment transaction share. It jumped from 16.6% five years ago to 31.7% in the past year, an increase of 15.1 percentage points. Wenshan District followed with a 13.3 percentage point increase over five years, and Xinyi District saw an 8 percentage point rise.

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Modern new building projects generally have a public facility ratio exceeding 30%, severely shrinking the actual living space. In contrast, apartments have the advantages of 'high space efficiency, prime locations, and large land shares.'

Real estate experts attribute this trend to the practical advantages of older apartments. Unlike modern high-rise buildings where public spaces often exceed 30% of the total area, older apartments offer "high space efficiency, prime locations, and large land shares." They are situated in established neighborhoods with excellent amenities and school districts. Furthermore, their substantial land holdings make them attractive for urban renewal and redevelopment projects, boosting their asset appreciation potential and appealing to both owner-occupiers and investors.

The surge in Nangang's old apartment market is linked to the "East District Gateway Project." As new constructions and elevator buildings in the area have seen their prices rapidly increase, the price gap between new apartments and older ones has widened significantly. This price difference has driven demand from buyers seeking more affordable options towards older apartments, leading to a more than doubling of their market share.

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The price difference per ping between new buildings and apartments in the district has widened from 106,000 NT dollars to 251,000 NT dollars, causing buyers with rigid demand to turn to apartments that are relatively more affordable, driving their share to more than double.