Typhoons and the Low Season Cool Home Sales in Taiwan’s Six Major Cities

Taiwan’s six major metropolitan areas recorded only 15,723 home-sale transfers in August, marking the weakest August in nearly a decade. The figure fell 23.3% from July and 5.6% from the same month last year, making it the third-lowest monthly total this year, ahead of only the Lunar New Year-related figures for February and April.

Taipei recorded 1,752 transfers, New Taipei 3,619, Taoyuan 3,126, Taichung 3,260, Tainan 1,319 and Kaohsiung 2,647. Tainan posted the lowest total among the six cities. Monthly declines ranged from 12% in Taichung to 30.1% in Tainan. Taipei and Kaohsiung were up 2.8% from a year earlier, while the other four cities recorded annual declines.

Chuang Szu-min, deputy manager of CTBC Real Estate’s research and development department, said transfers completed in August generally reflected transactions agreed from July through mid-August because the process from signing to registration usually takes about a month. Frequent rain during typhoon season, summer vacations and the traditional ghost month reduced people’s willingness to view homes and limited showings. A larger volume of developer handovers in July also raised the comparison base.

The broader picture was less severe. Transfers in the six cities totaled 133,667 units in the first eight months, down 1.5% from a year earlier. Taipei, New Taipei and Kaohsiung posted gains, while Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan declined. Analysts said the market remained in a period of adjustment rather than showing a sharp overall contraction.

Cheng Chin-ping of Yung Ching Real Estate said continued central-bank credit controls and cautious bank reviews of mortgage ratios, borrowers’ finances and repayment ability would make a rapid increase in transactions difficult. Existing-home activity has shown slight signs of recovery, however, with owner-occupier and investment demand stabilizing. Any later improvement will also depend on new-home completion and handover schedules. Chuang said falling property-loan concentration ratios could leave room for further easing, but the launch of the Qing’an 3.0 mortgage program and rising inflation may keep the central bank cautious.