Taipei, April 6 (CNA) A bluefin tuna weighing more than 180 kilograms was proclaimed Pingtung County's "first bluefin tuna of the season" on Wednesday, a tradition that heralds the start of the fishing season in Taiwan for the migratory fish.
Housing transactions in the nation’s six special municipalities last month soared 61.4 percent from a month earlier to 25,257 units, as the market emerged from a holiday effect, but interest rate hikes are driving market uncertainty, real-estate brokers said last week.
The figure marked an 11.9 percent increase over the same period last year, they said.
Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan all reported transaction increases of more than 50 percent month-on-month, thanks partly to a low comparison base in February, as people put off purchases during the Lunar New Year holiday, brokers said.
“The week-long holiday postponed home purchases
Housing transactions in the six special municipalities last month plunged 34.9 percent from January, as the Lunar New Year holiday, expected changes in global monetary policy and geopolitical tensions drove people to the sidelines, real-estate brokers said.
The number of transactions totaled 15,646 in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. All municipalities, with the exception of Taipei, saw a retreat of more than 30 percent, local government data showed.
Taipei posted a decline of 29.6 percent with 1,915 deals.
Kaohsiung reported the biggest tumble of 36.6 percent to 2,437 units, followed by Taoyuan’s 36.4 percent decrease to 2,762 units
Major real-estate brokers last month saw housing transactions decline by double-digit percentages from January as the week-long Lunar New Year holiday and bad weather dampened buying interest.
Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) reported a 24 percent slump in sales last month, when persistent rain kept people at home, and the Lunar New Year and 228 Memorial Day holidays cut working days, deputy research manager Chen Chin-ping (陳金萍) said.
The fall also had to do with a spate of unfavorable policy measures to cool the property fever, Chen said.
Property buyers are having more difficulty securing housing loans after the Financial Supervisory Commission raised risk
Housing transactions in the nation’s six special municipalities last month totaled 24,018 units, about the same as a year earlier, but down 13 percent from a month earlier, as COVID-19 measures and the Lunar New Year holiday dampened buying interest.
Potential buyers became more conservative as global monetary authorities signaled plans to raise interest rates later this year, which would add to property owners’ financial burden, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) deputy head Chen Chin-ping (陳金萍) said.
The US Federal Reserve has made known its intent to raise interest rates starting next month, and Taiwan’s central bank would soon follow suit, Chen