In March 2024, the buying momentum for new developments in northern Taiwan surged, with an average of 5.4 units sold per week, compared to around 3 units per week in the past year, marking an 80% increase. This surge in demand has led to the reappearance of active yellow-red signals in the real estate market after a 16-year hiatus.
According to a survey conducted by market research firm Zonda, six key indicators in northern Taiwan’s March new development market showed a “three-rise, one-stabilization, two-fall” trend. Among these indicators, the volume of new pre-sale units, bargaining rates, and number of transactions increased, while visitor numbers remained stable. However, the number of available units and newly completed units decreased.
Zonda spokesperson Chen Bingchen pointed out that the last time yellow-red signals appeared was in April 2008, when a change in government during the presidential election prompted developers to aggressively promote new projects. This time, the yellow-red signals were driven by profits in the stock market in March, with some investors shifting profits into the real estate market, leading to a significant increase in transaction volume.
In March, the iconic developments in northern Taiwan saw an average of 5.4 units sold per week, with strong demand particularly evident in areas such as Sanchong and Tamsui in New Taipei City, Guishan District in Taoyuan City, and Baoshan Township in Hsinchu County.
Driven by the real estate market’s “March 29th” sales period, the pre-sale volume in March surpassed NT$100 billion, while the number of newly completed units dropped to just over a hundred, compared to over 300 the previous month. This was mainly due to the fact that build-first, sell-later projects are not mainstream in the market, coupled with the impending implementation of the 2.0 property hoarding tax policy. Without regional characteristics or specific project planning, it is difficult to perform well. Chen Bingchen also believes that as April enters the tail end of the “March 29th” period, new projects will continue to enter the market, followed by the May 20th sales period. Areas such as Wenshan District in Taipei City, Sanchong and Tucheng Districts in New Taipei City, Zhongli, Guishan, and Lujhu in Taoyuan City, Nuannuan and Qidu Districts in Keelung City, and downtown Hsinchu City will see renowned developers such as Precia, Guo Jian, and Run Long introducing new projects, providing a plentiful supply to the market.