TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's housing market is experiencing a broad cooling trend, with prices dropping across all major urban centers, according to data released Wednesday (July 16) by Yungching Real Estate Agency (永慶房屋), one of the island's largest property brokerages. The company's quarterly housing price index showed an average nationwide decline of 1.6 percent during the April-June period. The downturn affected all six major metropolitan areas — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung — as well as the technology hub of Hsinchu County and City. The southern city of Tainan registered the steepest drop at 2.7 percent.
The significant price correction in Tainan reflects a market readjustment after several years of tech industry-fueled property speculation that pushed housing costs beyond the reach of average local incomes. Taichung, Taiwan's second-largest city, recorded the second-steepest decline at 2.3 percent, with analysts pointing to abundant development land that has increased housing inventory and created downward price pressure. New Taipei City, which surrounds the capital, experienced a 2.0 percent decrease, largely due to extensive urban renewal projects and resulting housing supply expansion.
Guo Han (郭翰), who heads the Research and Development Center at Yungching Real Estate Group, identified a sustained market slowdown dating back to mid-2024. He cited increasingly stringent mortgage requirements and the central bank's seventh consecutive round of credit control measures as primary factors driving the cooling trend. These policy interventions represent a coordinated government effort to stabilize Taiwan's housing market after years of rapidly escalating prices and to discourage speculative investment that has made homeownership increasingly unaffordable for many Taiwanese families.
The market has entered a standoff phase where potential buyers are deliberately delaying purchases in anticipation of further price decreases, according to Guo. This wait-and-see approach has prompted some property owners to offer discounts to complete sales, particularly those facing financial pressure or needing to liquidate assets quickly. The resulting negotiated price concessions have contributed to the measurable decline in the housing price index, signaling a fundamental shift in market psychology from the seller-dominated environment of recent years.