Taipei home prices rise beyond the reach of young people

High school teacher Huang I-chung said he had hunted in vain for a home in Taipei's soaring market for four years, convinced that owning a flat could help him find a wife.

"Renting is fine when you are young, but I'm in my 30s and I have a stable income," said Huang, who earns NT$80,000 (HK$20,670) a month. "I didn't understand it then, but I do now. Taipei's apartments aren't for living, they're for selling."

First-time buyers like Huang have been shut out of the market after home prices in Taipei almost tripled in the past 10 years, spurred by low mortgage rates.

With elections in November, Taiwan's ruling party has put access to housing near the top of its agenda. President Ma Ying-jeou has proposed building more affordable housing, and increasing taxes for non-owner-occupied homes to curb speculators.

"It's a consensus that young people can't afford to buy a home," said Stanley Su, an analyst at Sinyi Realty, Taiwan's only listed real estate broker. "The ruling party must respond to these concerns, and the opposition will have its own ideas, so inevitably there will be policy speculation. The property market will cool."

Taipei sits at the northern tip of Taiwan. The bustling, dense capital city is a mix of old, low-rise buildings and modern office towers, including Taipei 101, the world's third-tallest building. The population of Taipei and New Taipei City, a municipality surrounding the capital, has grown to 6.64 million.