TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New data has shown that in the last quarter of 2022, over 82,000 newly built homes remained unsold, marking the highest number in eight years. This slowdown in the housing market is attributed to the government's implementation of the "House Hoarding Tax 2.0" in early July.
The Ministry of the Interior reported that New Taipei City had the highest number of unoccupied new homes, with 16,600, followed by Taoyuan City with nearly 14,000 and Taichung City with 13,000. These three regions account for half of the country's newly built but unsold properties.
The tax plan will be in effect from May 2025, and Tseng Ching-te, the project manager of Sinyi Realty Business Planning Department, predicts that homes between 2 to 5 years old will likely become targets for increased taxes. The increased taxes, which range from NT＄10,000 to NT＄20,000 per household, will have limited pressure on developers for now.
Tseng anticipates that the market conditions will become clearer after the Lunar New Year and the 2024 presidential election in Taiwan, and "the developers will adjust their pricing strategies accordingly."
He pointed out three factors contributing to the difficulty in selling new homes: many presale homes are completed, investors' housing transactions are cooling down, and the Taiwan central bank has raised rates several times. These factors are putting pressure on builders.
