TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Ministry of the Interior (內政部) reported a 25.5% drop in property transactions last year, with only 261,308 units sold, marking a nine-year low, according to a TVBS report published Tuesday (Jan. 27). This decline resulted from the seventh wave of credit controls and banks operating at full capacity, which severely impacted market confidence. The 25.5% annual decrease represented the largest single-year drop since 1991, highlighting the market's fragile confidence.
Real estate agents observed a sharp decrease in market activity, particularly in Keelung City and Hsinchu City, where transaction volumes nearly halved. According to the Ministry of the Interior's data, the annual transaction volume fell from 350,000 units in 2024 to just 261,000 in 2025. Lai Chih-chang (賴志昶), a public relations assistant manager at Great Home Realty (大家房屋), a major Taiwanese real estate brokerage, attributed this decline to an overheated market in 2024, prompting the government to implement stringent credit controls.
A closer look at the data revealed that Keelung City and Hsinchu City experienced the steepest declines, with annual drops of 43.5% and 42.2%, respectively. Keelung City had attracted first-time buyers from the Greater Taipei area due to its affordable housing prices. Hsinchu City, previously buoyed by the Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan's leading technology hub, saw investor sentiment shift due to policy adjustments, with price corrections remaining unclear.
Hsu Chia-hsin (徐佳馨), executive director at H&B Realty (住商不動產), another major Taiwanese real estate brokerage, cautioned that the market in 2025 faced an unprecedented decline under heavy policy pressure. Hsu emphasized that until banks resolve capacity issues and the central bank eases credit controls, the market will continue at low volumes. For buyers, this situation presents an opportunity to explore more options and negotiate better deals. ◼