Property: Where in Taiwan's County-City Areas Can You Find Affordable Homes Under NT$10 Million? Pingtung City Tops the List

With property prices still at high levels and no reduction in homebuying thresholds, NT$10 million has become a critical affordability threshold for many first-time homebuyers. Even in county-administered cities with mature living amenities, there are significant differences in the proportion of homes priced under NT$10 million. A real estate agency’s analysis of housing transactions over the past year in Taiwan’s top ten most populous county-administered cities reveals that Pingtung City, the third most populous, has as high as 84% of homes priced under NT$10 million.

According to Yungching Realty’s statistics, among the top ten most populous county-administered cities in Taiwan, Pingtung City leads with 84% of homes under NT$10 million. Douliu City, Hualien City, and Taitung City also exceed 70%, while Nantou City, Changhua City, Yilan City, and Yuanlin City fall between 60% and 70%. Even Toufen City, which has seen recent price catch-up and benefited from spillover effects from the Hsinchu Science Park, still has 48% of transactions in homes under NT$10 million. In contrast, Zhubei City has less than 10% of homes under NT$10 million, with fewer than one in ten transactions falling into the under-NT$10 million category—highlighting a stark contrast with other county-administered cities.

Chen Jinping, Deputy Manager of Yungching Realty’s Research and Development Center, points out that over 60% of housing transactions in central, southern, and eastern county-administered cities still fall under NT$10 million. This indicates that non-metro administrative and commercial hubs continue to offer both mature living amenities and relatively affordable homebuying thresholds, making them attractive to first-time buyers, local families, and retirees. However, homebuying in Zhubei and Toufen is significantly more difficult. These areas have recently benefited from the development of the Hsinchu Science Park, AI industry, and high-tech clusters, attracting a large influx of high-income workers, which has driven rapid price increases and made sub-NT$10 million homes increasingly scarce.

Notably, while population size reflects a certain level of housing demand and living infrastructure, it does not necessarily correlate with higher prices. Chen analyzes the case of Zhubei City and Changhua City, both with populations exceeding 200,000. Despite similar population scales, there is a significant price gap. For homes under NT$10 million, Zhubei averages NT$303,000 per ping, while Changhua averages only NT$204,000—nearly NT$100,000 per ping difference. The proportion of homes under NT$10 million is 9% in Zhubei versus 67% in Changhua, revealing vastly different market structures. This shows that factors beyond population—such as industrial development, employment opportunities, transportation infrastructure, and housing supply—play crucial roles in determining prices.

Overall, Chen concludes, the top ten most populous county-administered cities generally combine administrative, commercial, and living functions, ensuring stable owner-occupier demand and preserving affordable housing markets. This highlights the affordability advantage of non-metro core areas. However, regional housing markets are already clearly diverging: Zhubei and Toufen, driven by tech industries, face higher price and entry barriers, while Pingtung, Douliu, and the Hualien-Taitung region attract owner-occupiers with affordable pricing. Buyers are advised to comprehensively assess their workplace location, commuting costs, and financial conditions to find a home that best meets their needs.