Taiwan housing industry feels two-year impact from central bank credit controls

The impact of Taiwan’s housing credit controls has spread beyond developers and brokers, with businesses across the residential supply chain reporting fewer projects and weaker demand.

The 2026 Housing Industry Chain Business Climate Survey found that 64.5% of respondents had experienced a marked decline in project work. For 41.2% of companies, the decline exceeded 50%. The survey covered construction, real estate and related upstream and downstream businesses.

Employment has also come under pressure. Some 55.8% of surveyed companies said their permanent staff numbers had fallen. Another 41.7% said they were leaving vacancies unfilled, while 26.8% had actively reduced their workforce.

Businesses remained cautious about the second half of the year. A total of 44.4% planned to continue hiring only when necessary, and 25.4% expected to reduce staff. Just 8.9% anticipated increasing employment.

The contraction has reached outside contractors and suppliers. The survey found reduced demand for outsourced work, contractors or work crews at 54.8% of companies, while 52.2% reported lower purchases of raw materials, equipment or building materials. Professor Chuang Meng-han of Takming University of Science and Technology said labor demand may first appear in working hours, project opportunities, external labor needs and income before showing up in formal unemployment figures. The survey was commissioned by Housing Monthly and conducted by Kun Shan University and I-Shou University in August, comparing conditions with September 2024, before the seventh round of selective credit controls took effect.