The housing market in Taiwan saw a significant decline in April due to the high tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly affecting Tainan, which ranks among the top three for year-on-year reduction in transactions (photo by reporter Lin Hsueh-Chuan).

According to the statistics from the real estate agency, the total number of property transactions in the six major cities in April was over 16,800, representing a month-on-month decrease of 7.3% and an annual drop of 26%. Kaohsiung, New Taipei, and Tainan were the most affected. The stock market's instability has led to a more cautious buying attitude among consumers.

Li Chih-Chang, head of the research office at Yajung Real Estate Agency, pointed out that they initially expected to see sustained buying activity from March into early Q2; however, the disruption caused by Trump's tax policies has clearly cooled the market. Statistics from the respective land offices indicate that the number of transactions in April has generally shown a trend of decreases both year-on-year and month-on-month. The three cities with the highest annual decrease are Kaohsiung (2,500 units, down 17% month-on-month, down 40% year-on-year), New Taipei (3,800 units, down 36% year-on-year) and Tainan (1,768 units, up 14% month-on-month, down 27% year-on-year).

Li analyzed that the domestic housing market is still impacted by multiple factors such as stock market fluctuations, loan pressures, tightening funds, and tax filing pressures, causing both self-use and investment purchasing intentions to remain cautious. Thus, the overall transaction volume is significantly lower compared to the same period last year. While specific areas like Tainan show a short-term rebound, this appears to be solely driven by new property deliveries, and overall improvement in the housing market may not be seen until international economic trends become clearer.

Xue Jia-Hsin, executive director of the planning office at Yajung Real Estate Agency, noted that after the Central Bank's seventh credit control implementation last September, transaction volumes quietly increased in March, though not comparable to last year's same period. The situation was disrupted by Trump's actions and thus, the outlook for the housing market in the second quarter appears bleak.