Capital: Taipei
Language(s): Standard Mandarin (Official)
Area Total: 36,193 km2
Population: Abt. 23.4 million
GDP (PPP): 2012 estimate
Total: $903.469 billion
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan, which makes up over 99% of its territory. After three years of unbroken house price rises, Taiwan's housing market is now slowing sharply, as economic conditions deteriorate.
In Greater Taipei, the Lutheran home price index posted a meager growth of 0.96% during the year ending in June 2012, according to Sinyi Real Estate Planning and Research. Taipei, Taiwan's capital has the most expensive housing in the country, with an average price of TW$518,600 (US$17,611) per ping (a customary and traditional unit of measurement in Taiwan which is equivalent to 3.306 square meters).
Nationally, the housing price index rose by 4.39% (2.57% inflation-adjusted) y-o-y in June 2012, according to Taiwan Realty Co. House prices in the country increased by 1.71% during the latest quarter. In the first half of 2012, property transactions in Taiwan fell 20.88% from a year earlier to 158,673 units, according to the Ministry of the Interior, mainly due to the luxury tax introduced in June 2011 to curb speculation.
The number of unoccupied houses is rising. In the first half of 2012, the total value of new houses launched in Northern Taiwan was TWD432.1 billion (US$14.7 billion), of which only about 40% were sold, while the remaining 60% (equivalent to about 12,822 units) remain unsold, and available in the market.