What to look for when buying a house in Taiwan?

[Rotalsnart]

For the park situation in Wanhua, you can't beat the area a few short alley blocks north of Wanda road (near the pedestrian overpass to the park over the riverside road) -- I suggest looking around a couple of alley blocks in from the riverside road. The riverside park is huge there and very appealing for strolling, birdwatching and so on. I walk my dogs there all the time.

[sandman]

prices in Xindian are the same or worse.

Dunno price per ping, but I just bought a place in Ankeng (not too distant from Xindian) and it cost NT$6.6 million for 48 pings. Newly renovated, too. Beautiful.

[Incubus]

Dunno price per ping, but I just bought a place in Ankeng (not too distant from Xindian) and it cost NT$6.6 million for 48 pings.

That would be NT$137,500 per ping. Congrats!

[Rotalsnart]

Sandman, yes, from your description of the place (including the kitchen in another thread), it sounds like you got a good price.

[Icon]

prices in Xindian are the same or worse.

Dunno price per ping, but I just bought a place in Ankeng (not too distant from Xindian) and it cost NT$6.6 million for 48 pings. Newly renovated, too. Beautiful.

Yep, and the air is fresher up there... But down by the MRT 'or at least, not the mountains, like Sanmin Road or Zhongzhen, the prices are like that 500K up... My gongwu is now worth almost 9 million. There is a refurbished one, same size, less than 30 ping, going for 12.

I just fell in love with a rooftop that is a bit over 15 million, 35 pings.

[Rotalsnart]

I think southwest Wanhua is still the place to look for rooftops. You can probably still find a nice one of 20 to 25 ping on the deed (i.e. actual use of 40 to 50 ping) for not much more than NT$6 million near the river if you look hard enough and are prepared to put some additional money in to fix the place up. If you get one in a four-story gongyu that is over 30 years old, you'll have the added benefit (investment-wise at least) of likely rebuilding in the medium-term future. However, the prices are rising quickly so now is the time to look, before all the owners have gotten on board with the trend of asking for much higher prices.

[viba]

Hi guys

Thanks for all who have participated on this thread. I think I have gone through almost all of the 21 pages and found a lot of useful info.

I too have been home hunting – somewhat reluctantly. We’ve been around Sanxia a couple of times. I actually quite like the feel of the developments. Although it looks little more than beehives from the highway, ground level you can see how much more thought is put into planning than previous decades: sidewalk cafes, tree lined avenues, etc. Two main concerns though: price and the low level of occupancy.

I’m from the “get the wife of my back” clan mentioned several times earlier. Not that she’s really gun-ho, but she’s definitely initiating things.

I am much more hesitant. We live in a lovely home in the center of the city, which sets us back just 10K in rent each month. A token payment, as it’s in the family (a slightly complicated issue – but that’s another story).

I’m quite happy for our money to be in the stock market, especially after the great returns of the last couple of years. I’m quite uncomfortable selling my stocks to put into property here. I don’t see any value. After experiencing the hard side of property bubbles bursting in the UK – I am so surprised there seems to be little history of big dips in the housing market in Taiwan. I would like to wait until a dip, but my wife has the opinion that now is the time to buy before they get any higher.

I guess I’d like to know what you would do in my situation.

[Rotalsnart]

Hi guys

Thanks for all who have participated on this thread. I think I have gone through almost all of the 21 pages and found a lot of useful info.

I too have been home hunting – somewhat reluctantly. We’ve been around Sanxia a couple of times. I actually quite like the feel of the developments. Although it looks little more than beehives from the highway, ground level you can see how much more thought is put into planning than previous decades: sidewalk cafes, tree lined avenues, etc. Two main concerns though: price and the low level of occupancy.

I’m from the “get the wife of my back” clan mentioned several times earlier. Not that she’s really gun-ho, but she’s definitely initiating things.

I am much more hesitant. We live in a lovely home in the center of the city, which sets us back just 10K in rent each month. A token payment, as it’s in the family (a slightly complicated issue – but that’s another story).

I’m quite happy for our money to be in the stock market, especially after the great returns of the last couple of years. I’m quite uncomfortable selling my stocks to put into property here. I don’t see any value. After experiencing the hard side of property bubbles bursting in the UK – I am so surprised there seems to be little history of big dips in the housing market in Taiwan. I would like to wait until a dip, but my wife has the opinion that now is the time to buy before they get any higher.

I guess I’d like to know what you would do in my situation.

From an investment point of view, I personally would avoid the high-rise developments in the suburbs because there are just too many going up. I still think property in the city proper is the way to go investment-wise. And I don't see any significant dips coming up in the foreseeable few years. I think prices at the top (East Taipei) may be leveling out, but the middle and especially the bottom prices levels of the market will continue to rise substantially over the coming five years or so. Check out my previous posts tracking price levels in west Wanhua. I wrote in November that asking prices for newer buildings had hit 500,000 per ping. Now, just two months later, they have risen to 700,000 pe ping in the newest tall development in the area (the Ruentex group's 萬囍 Wanxi twin apartment tower). The asking prices for older gongyu is now consistently around 400,000 -- up from 220,000 or so less than a year ago. These prices still have quite a ways to go before they catch up with the top end of the market, and they will continue rising as the west side of Taipei keeps becoming more attractive through gradual urban development plans.

[Rotalsnart]

I would add that if I were looking for a place in the suburbs, another reason I would avoid the highrises (in addition to the overconstruction glut), is that I would want a place with some significant land area on the deed. With the highrises you tend to own only a tiny amount of actual land (often less than a ping), if any. From a long-term investment standpoint, this is not good, especially given the relatively short lifespans of buildings in Taiwan historically.

If I were looking in the suburbs, I'd focus on row houses or town houses (or even more traditional structures if my budget were really limited). It sounds like there are still some good deals out there, like what Sandman found recently -- that sounds like a great deal at a fantastic price.

[headhonchoII]

Realistically speaking both the Taiwan stock market and the property market in general don't have much more 'upside'. If you have the cash then investment wise Wanhua, Dihua area would be a good bet, gongyu the best bet because of the land. A place for living might be a different proposition...I'm done living in gongyu myself.
Taiwan did have a major property crash in the 1990s and there was a smaller crash during SARS in 2003. Just like property booms the world over this one is fuelled by historically cheap credit along with a real improvement in economic conditions,in Taipei at least. When China's boom comes to an end so will Taiwan's.