House prices up by 1.92% y-o-y in 2018

Nationwide house prices rose by 1.92% during 2018, an improvement from the prior year’s 0.55% growth and its best performance since 2013. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices increased 2.2% in Q4 2018. House prices have fallen over the past three years, after dramatic government measures to curb speculative house purchases.

Demand is stable; supply continues to surge 

Property sales in the country’s six major cities (Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung) were down slightly by 0.8% in September 2018 from a year earlier. 

Construction activity is surging. During 2018, the total number of residential construction licenses issued rose by 32.3% to 121,689 from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Rents, rental yields: amazingly low yields in Tapei at 1.57%

Taipei apartment costs are at $7,112 per sq. m. 

Taiwan: typical city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Taipei	$853,440	$1,117	1.57%

Recent news. Taiwan’s economy grew by 2.63% in 2018 from a year earlier, from y-o-y expansions of 3.08% in 2017, 1.51% in 2016, 0.81% in 2015 and 4.02% in 2014, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). Recently, DGBAS slashed its forecast for Taiwan’s 2019 economic growth to 2.27% from an earlier projection of a 2.41% growth, amidst rising uncertainty over global demand.