JANUARY DEALS:New Taipei City saw the majority of the action, with 4,984 units being sold, followed by Taichung and Kaohsiung, while Taipei accounted for just 1,763 units

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Housing transactions in the nation’s six special municipalities soared 37.5 percent last month from a year earlier as buying interests recovered somewhat due to a stabilizing economy and a reduction in political rhetoric from policymakers, analysts said yesterday.

Deals totaled 15,656 units in the six municipalities despite fewer working days in the month, according to data released by the respective municipal governments on their Web sites on Thursday.

“Some buyers, especially those with real demand, decided to end their sitting on the sidelines after the government took action to lower holding costs and encourage urban renewal,” Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) researcher Tseng Ching-der (曾進德) said by telephone.

The Taipei City Government has trimmed extra taxes on luxury homes — or units built with expensive materials and located in prime locations — which had virtually frozen luxury home transactions in recent years.    [FULL  STORY]