By Stephen Che The China post 2005/10/13
House prices across Taiwan have fallen slightly in the past quarter with houses in Taichung County and the Hsinchu area leading the way, according to statistics released by a real estate brokerage firm.
Closing prices of houses in Taiwan have decreased by less than 1 percent in the past quarter from an average of NT$110,000 per ping to NT$109,000 with Taichung County falling the most at 5.8% and the Hsinchu area at 5.5%, according to figures provided by the Yung Ching brokerage firm.
Taipei City’s house prices slipped slightly by less than one percent from NT$282,000 per ping to NT$280,000. Only Taoyuan County, Miaoli County, and Kaohsiung city saw rises in their house prices with Taoyuan County increasing the most.Taoyuan County’s closing prices rose by 8.82% from an average of NT$62,000 per ping to NT$68,000, while Kaohsiung city followed at 2.99% from NT$65,000 to NT$67,000, and Miaoli County rounding out the three at 1.61% from NT$61,000 to NT$62,000.
The close approximity to the greater Taipei area and Taoyuan’s lower house prices compared to Taipei have led to Taoyuan County’s surge in house prices, according to Peng Pei-yeh, manager at Yung Ching brokerage firm.
Peng added that population increases in Nankan and Taoyuan cities as well as the completion of freeway on ramps and off ramps in the area have also contributed to the hike in Taoyuan County’s house prices.
Total closing prices have fallen the most in Tainan City from an average of NT$2.64 million to NT$2.35 million per transaction, a drop of 12.3 percent. Only Kaohsiung city and Taoyuan County experienced increases in total closing prices — by 8.52 percent and 5.65 percent, respectively.