No new ones will be built if they are not sold out. Residential construction starts fell by more than 30% annually in the first three quarters.

In the first three quarters of this year, the number of residential construction starts and the number of residential construction licenses issued declined by about 31.73% and 27.81% respectively compared with the same period last year. (Photo by reporter Xu Yiping)

[Reporter Xu Yiping/Taipei Report] Purchases of pre-sale houses have been sluggish, and builders have become more conservative in promoting new projects. According to the monthly statistical report of the Ministry of the Interior, the number of residential construction starts dropped to 65,400 homes in the first three quarters of this year, and the number of residential building licenses issued also fell to 78,400 homes. Compared with the same period last year, the decline rates were approximately 31.73% and 27.81% respectively.

Zeng Jingde, project manager of the Xinyi Housing Real Estate Enterprise Research Office, said that before the central bank imposed the seventh wave of selective credit controls in September 2024, pre-sale housing purchases were booming. However, after the seventh wave came on the road, pre-sale housing purchases shrank sharply. In 2025, pre-sale housing purchases were even more severe. The number of pre-sale housing exposures in Taiwan throughout the year dropped by 70% year-on-year compared to last year.

Therefore, in the face of sluggish purchase of pre-sale houses, builders are not in a hurry to launch new projects. Instead, they mainly sell already-proposed projects. As for land consolidation builders in Taipei City, they choose to slow down. Landmarks and land in other counties and cities are also much deserted. As a result, both the number of construction starts and the number of residential construction licenses have declined.

According to Xinyi Housing Summary, the number of construction starts from 2023 to 2025 and the same period in the first three quarters fell between 93,700 and 98,500 houses, but in the first three quarters of 2026, there were only 65,400 houses, an annual decrease of 31.73%; The number of residential construction licenses issued nationwide from 2023 to 2025 and the same period in the first three quarters fell between 108,600 and 111,600 houses. However, in the first three quarters of 2026, there were only 78,400 houses, an annual decrease of 27.81%.

Zeng Jingde pointed out that the purchase sentiment for pre-sale houses from 2023 to 2025 was mainly driven by the Qing'an 2.0 (New Qing'an) issue, which caused enthusiasm. However, after the central bank's seventh wave of selective credit controls came into effect, the purchase sentiment for pre-sale houses shrank significantly, and builders naturally slowed down the pace of the project.

The seventh wave of credit control is a turning point in buying pre-sale houses

The decline in the number of construction starts and building permits nationwide is an easily observed phenomenon during the economic correction. Zeng Jingde pointed out that builders will first complete the pre-sale projects and then collect cash. In the past real estate boom cycle, medium and large builders have experience in dealing with it. Especially in the market conditions where buying sentiment is freezing, they will first choose to reduce the number of projects to prevent oversupply in the housing market, which will have a greater impact on the overall housing market.