New Taipei suffers steepest fall in urban land prices in Taiwan

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) New Taipei saw the steepest fall in urban land prices in the six months from April to September 2018 among the 22 cities and counties in Taiwan, according to data released by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on Tuesday.

The urban land price index in New Taipei, the most populous city in Taiwan, was 99.58 during the period of April 1-Sept. 30, 2018, down 0.42 percent from the period of Oct. 1, 2017- March 31, 2018, according to MOI data.

The index in New Taipei bucked an overall 0.22 percent upturn in urban land prices in Taiwan during the same period that pushed the nationwide index to 100.22, the data showed.

It was the sixth consecutive semi-annual report to show urban land prices around Taiwan fluctuating within 1 percent, indicating stable land prices.

The MOI's urban land price index is based on the median land price of residential and commercial property and industrial zones in a city or a county in Taiwan. The ministry releases the index twice a year, once on Jan. 15 and the other on July 15.

The MOI said the fall in land prices in New Taipei reflected an increase in the supply of residential units from the completion of new developments, enabling buyers to negotiate home prices downward, which pushed down land prices in the city.

Land prices in Xinchuang District reported a drop of 1.27 percent during the period, the biggest fall of any district in the city, the MOI said.

Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County and Penghu County were tied for the second biggest fall in urban land prices in Taiwan during the six-month period at 0.24 percent, and Hualien County was fifth, with a 0.08 percent fall, the data showed.

Lienchiang County saw the biggest rise in urban land price in Taiwan during the period at 1.32 percent, according to the data.

The MOI said the higher land prices in the county reflected the county government's efforts to boost its tourism sector, as visitor arrivals rose 49 percent during the period.

Land prices there were also lifted by more investment in the county's property market and a relatively low comparison base for the previous six-month period, the MOI said.

Tainan reported the second highest increase in urban land prices of 1.18 percent, ahead of Keelung City (up 0.87 percent), Yilan County (up 0.78 percent) and Pingtung County (up 0.67 percent), the MOI added.

The MOI said land prices were up 0.17 percent in residential areas nationwide during the same six-month period, up 0.36 percent in commercial areas and up 0.31 percent in industrial areas.

The number of property deals in Taiwan totaled 258,992 during the six months, up 0.57 percent, MOI data showed.