SERIES: Taiwan-U.S. Quarterly Analysis | Number 18 of 18 « Previous
Opinion | July 2015
The factors and implications of rising housing prices in Taiwan
Yi-Ling Chen
Associate Professor
Global and Area Studies/ Geography
University of Wyoming
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2015/07/15-taiwan-rising-housing-prices-chen
Taiwanese media say that Taipei housing is so expensive that the average household would have to “neither eat nor drink”[MWW1] for fifteen years in order to own a place.[1] They use this statistic to explain the high costs of housing and the difficulty of achieving homeownership. Skyrocketing prices have also made housing a political issue. Increasing the supply of social housing, or finding methods to curb rising prices, has become a key issue in each major election since 2010. Possible housing solutions are constantly under debate and, due to resistance from different interest groups, making slow progress.