TAIPEI: Taiwan’s home loans totaled NT$6.0277 trillion (US$182.6 billion) at the end of last month, up 3.2 percent year-on-year and 0.09 percent month-on-month, the central bank said on Friday.
Renewed buying activity on the part of home buyers by the end of the year and ahead of a new housing policy next year accounted for the increase, the bank said. Self-occupancy upheld the housing market, as first-time buyers increased their mortgage loans by NT$4.4 billion at eight major state-run banks to NT$439.8 billion last month from October, it said.
However, construction financing increased 1.97 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.6463 trillion, the lowest annual increase in 23 months, reflecting the sector’s conservative attitude toward the market going forward.