TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Housing starts, a key indicator of the real estate market, fell to a five-year low in Taiwan in 2024, reflecting ongoing challenges in the sector.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan's total housing starts in 2024 amounted to 127,883 units. This marks the lowest in five years and the second consecutive year of decline, per CNA.
Among the six major municipalities, New Taipei experienced the sharpest decline. The city's housing starts fell by 62.9%.
Despite the overall decline, Taiwan's top 10 real estate companies saw record project launches and housing units. These developers initiated 154 projects, representing 34,700 units, a 46.7% increase in the number of projects and a 20.9% rise in housing units compared to the previous year.
Real estate analysts attributed the downturn to the Central Bank’s seventh round of credit controls, which were introduced in September. Developers reacted by postponing construction projects to reduce financial risks, signaling a change in market sentiment.
The credit control includes four key measures aimed at curbing housing speculation. These initiatives include eliminating grace periods for first-time home buyers with existing properties, reducing loan-to-value ratios for second homes, luxury homes, and third mortgages, and restricting developer loans using unsold homes as collateral.
Hsu Chia-Hsin (徐佳馨), executive director of H&B Housing's research office, pointed out that developers continued to hold large inventories of unsold units following years of market growth. Additionally, the frequent tightening of credit last year discouraged new projects, with many developers opting to delay construction as they navigated an increasingly uncertain market.
Lai Chih-Chang (賴志昶), public relations director at Great Home Realty’s research office, highlighted that in July 2024, housing starts surged to 17,331 units, the highest single-month figure on record. Despite stricter mortgage lending policies and tightened land and construction loans, optimism about the market's outlook and financial pressures led developers to accelerate projects.
However, Lai noted that the Central Bank's latest round of credit restrictions in September severely undermined developer confidence. The market slowdown that followed led to a significant decline in housing starts for the rest of the year.
A breakdown of housing starts across Taiwan’s six major cities showed mixed trends in 2024:
- Taipei City: 11,164 housing starts, up 17.5% year-over-year
- New Taipei City: 8,528 housing starts, down 62.9% year-over-year
- Taoyuan City: 26,466 housing starts, up 48.4% year-over-year
- Taichung City: 33,185 housing starts, up 16.5% year-over-year; highest number of starts among all regions
- Tainan City: 8,367 housing starts, down 37.7% year-over-year
- Kaohsiung City: 20,437 housing starts, up 36% year-over-year
Lai explained that New Taipei’s sharp decline in housing starts was primarily due to an oversupply of unsold units in active redevelopment zones. Combined with stricter housing market regulations and weakening buyer demand, developers chose to delay projects in hopes of more favorable conditions.
