Land deals by value decline 27% in first halfBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLand transactions by listed firms totaled NT$49.1 billion (US$1.65 billion) in the first half of this year, falling 27 percent from a year earlier, as companies turned cautious about investing in land, Sinyi Global Realty Co (信義全球) said yesterday. Soaring land and labor prices have prompted property developers to slow the pace of acquiring land, Sinyi Global said, adding that land financing restrictions and interest rate hikes also weighed on purchases. About 90 percent of the land deals fell outside Greater Taipei, where large and idle land is hard to find, especially in popular locations, it said. Sinyi Global said it expects the cautious sentiment to persist next quarter, as developers would hesitate to add to their land inventory unless they are confident about sales. Property funds are likely to continue to flow to central and southern Taiwan, where the cost of land is more affordable, it said.

Source: Taipei Times June 24, 2022 22:02 UTC