Is high-speed rail a failure? Pingtung’s 307-hectare Special Economic Zone accelerates development, but the housing market cannot make waves

The Pingtung high-speed rail specific area covers an area of ​​307 hectares, and surrounding science and technology parks and public construction are gradually advancing. However, local experts believe that it will still be difficult to make waves in the housing market in the short term.

The high-speed rail south extension to Pingtung, which has been "only heard from the stairs" for many years, has finally made new progress! The pilot project for the relocation of Taiwan Railway's Liukuaicuo Station has officially started. In the future, it will share the station with the high-speed rail. The development of the surrounding 307-hectare high-speed rail specific area has also been accelerated. However, despite the continuous positive traffic news, local experts bluntly said that "it will not make waves" and even warned that the transaction volume in the fourth quarter may be very bad.

The Taiwan Railway's Liukuaicuo station relocation project has started recently. According to the plan of the Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation, the station will be moved 1.6 kilometers westward, and another 3 kilometers of railway will be elevated. It is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2035. In the future, when the high-speed rail extends to Pingtung, it will form a dual-rail station and become a new transportation gateway in Pingtung.

Zhou Chunmi, the mayor of Pingtung County, said that construction related to the 307-hectare high-speed rail specific area has been started for four years. The Pingtung Science Park is currently full of investment, and will be followed by the expansion of the Pingtung Science and Technology Industrial Park, Pingtai Industrial Park, and the International Baseball Stadium in the Sports and Leisure Park. The international baseball stadium is expected to be opened by the end of 2027.

In addition to the entry of technology industries, Zhou Chunmi also revealed that the county government plans to attract investment and introduce commercial department stores, coupled with transportation construction such as the high-screen second expressway and the extension of County Road 189, to connect the high-speed rail specific area and surrounding industrial clusters, and gradually improve the regional living functions.

The benefits of high-speed rail cannot match the tightening of mortgage loans

Despite the continuous advancement of major construction projects, Guo Chenghao, chairman of the Pingtung County Real Estate Agency Brokers Association, believes that this wave of high-speed rail construction will "make no waves" in the regional housing market. The key lies in the tightening of bank mortgage loans, which has affected actual transactions.

He revealed that some buyers had signed contracts as early as two months ago, but were still unable to complete the transaction due to bank loan delays. At present, the real estate market is not only faced with buyers waiting and watching, but also the cases that have been completed are stuck on the bank side, making it more difficult for the transaction volume to pick up. He even bluntly said: "I am afraid that the transaction volume will be very bad in the fourth quarter."