Taiwan's Qing An 3.0 Housing Loan Program Maintains NT$10 Million Cap, Focuses on Affordability

Taiwan's "Qing An 3.0" housing loan program, designed to assist first-time homebuyers, retains a maximum loan ceiling of NT$10 million. An analysis of the previous "Qing An 2.0" program suggests this limit is well-aligned with the financial capacity of most target borrowers.

According to data from the Credit Information Office, nearly three-quarters of mortgage borrowers had loan amounts under NT$10 million. Specifically, borrowers with annual incomes below NT$1.2 million typically had average mortgages less than NT$10 million. Even those earning up to NT$2 million generally had loan amounts around NT$12 million. This indicates that the NT$10 million cap is likely sufficient for a substantial portion of applicants seeking affordable housing loans.

Real estate professionals observe that Taiwanese citizens tend to be conservative with their mortgage planning, rarely borrowing up to the absolute maximum. Even when the loan limit increased from NT$8 million to NT$10 million in Qing An 2.0, the average loan taken was approximately NT$7.8 million. With a 30-year repayment plan and no grace period for interest, the monthly repayment after the subsidy ends would be around NT$30,000, a sum most dual-income families can manage, thus keeping the default risk low.

However, the program's uniform NT$10 million cap across all regions has drawn some criticism. While it aims for fairness, the vast disparity in housing prices means the cap might not be as beneficial in high-cost areas. For instance, in Taipei, where the average housing price is NT$25.15 million, securing a NT$10 million loan still requires a down payment of at least NT$5 million. Experts suggest that adding an exclusion cap based on a total property value of NT$35 million for Qing An 3.0 is an unnecessary addition, as the NT$10 million loan limit already implicitly filters out the most expensive properties.