FEELING ‘BLUE’:‘Housing Monthly’ said the market flashed ‘blue’ again, reflecting sluggish sales, but improved to 31.7 last month, from 31.1 in May, near ‘yellow-blue’

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 11, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The pre-sale and new home market flashed a second “blue” signal last month, reflecting sluggish sales, which have improved slightly after some developers lowered prices significantly to facilitate transactions, a Housing Monthly (住展雜誌) report said.

The improvement could sustain its momentum if builders resist the temptation to increase price tags amid a nascent recovery in buying interest, the Chinese-language magazine said.

The market indicator stood at 31.7 last month, modestly better than 31.1 in May and approaching the threshold of 32 for a “yellow-blue” indicator, as pre-sale projects soared to NT$40 billion (US$1.24 billion), from more than NT$10 billion one month earlier, the report said.

“The sentiment gauge could flash ‘yellow-blue’ this month, if the numbers of prospective buyers and dealers pick up further, suggesting the market is shifting gears away from a recessionary state,” the publication’s research manager Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said.     [FULL  STORY]