Property: Kaohsiung Medical District Housing Prices Rise, Rongzong Lifestyle Zone Leads with 8.2% Increase

According to the latest official 2024 financial reports on hospital medical service claims, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital ranks first in revenue among hospitals in Kaohsiung City, followed by Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMU), Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital (Rongzong), E-Da Hospital, and Juan Comprehensive Hospital in the top five. Real estate agencies' statistics show that the area surrounding Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital has performed the most impressively, with average prices per ping rising from NT$250,000 to NT$270,000, an 8.2% increase—the highest among medical districts. Prices near other top-earning hospitals, including Chang Gung and Juan Comprehensive Hospital, have also risen steadily.

Huang Shih-pin, owner of Taiwan House's Zuoying R15 franchise, pointed out that the Rongzong lifestyle zone is a mature medical cluster in Kaohsiung and has long been a stable residential hotspot. In addition to the medical resources of Rongzong Hospital, the area features Fushan Junior High School, a prestigious school district, is close to the Dingjin System Interchange, and connects to popular lifestyle zones such as Zuoying HSR, Ecological Park, and Renwu Xianghai New Development Zone. Its convenient transportation and complete commercial functions attract many families and medical personnel to invest in property.

In recent years, the area has benefited from ongoing positive developments. Uni-President (2912-TW) has secured the 'Bay City 38 BOT Project' and will build a mixed-use commercial complex called 'YouHuo Lifestyle Plaza,' scheduled to be completed and operational by 2028. Additionally, developers have invested to consolidate land around Rongzong Hospital for new developments, bringing fresh momentum to the commercial district and further strengthening housing price support.

Huang Shih-pin noted that the Rongzong lifestyle zone is an early-developed, mature commercial area with a dense cluster of high-rise buildings. Housing supply mainly consists of 20- to 30-year-old mid-aged apartments, with three-bedroom family units averaging around NT$260,000 to NT$280,000 per ping. New construction projects, due to limited supply and scarcity effects, along with support from high-income medical professionals, have seen new unit transaction prices stabilize above the NT$400,000 mark, further elevating the area's overall price level.

Similarly ranked among the most profitable hospitals, the KMU lifestyle zone has seen housing prices decline over the past two years, with average prices per ping dropping from NT$293,000 to NT$275,000, a decrease of about 6%.

Li Chia-ni, manager of Taiwan House Group's Trend Center, stated that most of Kaohsiung's top-earning hospitals are medium-to-large-sized institutions located in mature urban commercial districts. They not only provide medical services but also serve as major employment centers. The stable population of medical staff and related industries, along with the daily influx of patients, drives surrounding retail business and sustains long-term housing and rental demand. As the population ages, public emphasis on medical accessibility is increasing, making hospitals an advantageous lifestyle amenity.

Li Chia-ni noted that housing prices in large hospital commercial districts generally have strong resilience against downturns. However, this year's real estate market correction has brought performance back to each district's supply-demand structure. The KMU lifestyle zone, also a strong刚需 (high-demand) homebuying area, saw its transaction prices and volumes inflated in previous years due to the delivery of major pre-sale projects like 'Jun Du Dang Dai' and 'Xing Jing Jing Du Xin.' However, with the real estate market cooling this year and buyer sentiment clearly weakening, transaction volumes in this commercial zone have shrunk significantly over the past half year. Combined with a lack of new projects entering the market over the past year, the absence of high-price transactions has led to a more noticeable price correction.