Taiwan Small Homes Top 30%, Up 41.9萬 Units in Nine Years
According to Ministry of the Interior housing tax registry statistics, in Q2 this year Taiwan residences of 25 ping or less reached 291.3萬 units, an increase of about 41.9萬 units from 249.4萬 units in the same period in 2017, an increase of 16.8%. Its share of total Taiwan residences also rose from 29.2% in Q2 2017 to 30.5% this year, officially breaking through the 30% mark, showing small- and medium-size products have gradually become the market mainstream.
Hsinchu and Taoyuan Miniaturization Most Pronounced, Tech Clusters Drive Demand
Looking at county and city data, the most pronounced miniaturization trend is in Hsinchu County, where in Q2 residences of 25 ping or less reached 6萬 units, up 54% from the same period in 2017, with the share rising to 24.9%, up 5.3 percentage points, ranking first in Taiwan. Next is Taoyuan City, where in Q2 residences of 25 ping or less reached 30.1萬 units, up 40.3% from the same period in 2017, accounting for 30.9%, up 4.6 percentage points, ranking second in Taiwan.
HB Realty Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli District Associate Lu Yiqi noted that the Taoyuan-Hsinchu area has benefited in recent years from technology industry development and industrial cluster agglomeration, attracting young working populations to move in, but regional housing prices have risen steadily, leaving local first-time buyers able to buy only smaller and smaller. In addition, land readjustment themes in Zhubei City, Hsinchu County and parts of Taoyuan City have boomed, and the new-project market in recent years has gradually moved toward streamlined ping sizes, further pushing up the share of small-ping residences.
Price Gains Outpace Incomes, Builders Shrink Sizes to Lower Total Prices
Ustar Realty Planning and Research Office PR Assistant Manager Lai Zhichang analyzed that home price gains in recent years have been significant and have outpaced income growth, so homebuyers can only turn to products with streamlined ping sizes. To meet market demand, builders also tend to lower total purchase price thresholds by shrinking ping sizes, and with consensus on both the supply and demand sides, small- and medium-size products have become mainstream.
Lai Zhichang reminded that although miniaturization can lower the entry threshold, buyers should still pay attention to actual indoor usable area, room layouts and differences in public-facility ratios, as actual space may shrink after deducting public facilities even if titled ping size looks sufficient. In addition, although small-ping units have lower total prices, the per-ping unit price may be higher than the area market, and buyers are advised to prioritize long-term owner-occupancy needs and financial affordability, while weighing actual market prices and living functions.