Tantalizing Taipei: Financial and Cultural Avatar

From the pages of RESIDE®: Luxury Homes and Lifestyles Around the World, Fall 2012 Asia Edition

If you were an investor and could travel back in time to buy property in pre-emerging markets, where would you go? The Upper East Side in the 1950’s, or the West Village in the ‘60’s? Aspen or Santa Barbara, or St. Moritz in the ‘70’s? Malaysia and Singapore 10 years ago?

While purely hypothetical—and tantalizing to think about for all the possibilities—the question is also a reminder that in real estate there are always yet-to-be-discovered markets and opportunities hidden in plain sight. Today’s Tirana or Tacna could be tomorrow’s Taipei.

Serious investors are in fact turning to Taipei, lately surging as one of Asia’s most visible financial and cultural avatars. The capital of Taiwan with a metropolitan population of nearly 7 million, Taipei strikes newcomers as a vibrant and diverse city bisected by six scenic rivers and bordered by mountains and the stunning Yangmingshan National Park. An influx of capital, low interest and estate tax rates, rapid development in the tech sector and proximity to vital Asian markets has encouraged governments and corporations around the world to bring business here, and increasing numbers of international travelers are newly exploring the city’s historic sites, museums, restaurants and famed street-side delicacies. Moreover, luxury property and apartments remain priced far less than in places like Hong Kong and Singapore.

Since the 1960’s, Taiwan’s economy has been driven by robust textile and manufacturing operations based primarily in and around Taipei. Recently, however, Taipei has transitioned strongly into banking and technology. According to David Tran, Founder of Taiwan Sotheby’s International Realty, white-collar workers account for 72-percent of Taipei’s current labor force, the highest such proportion in Taiwan. Nearly 10-percent of the workforce is now in the financial sector, and nearly 7-percent find employment in high-tech, information and communications industries. Powered by production from Taipei, Taiwan’s economy is one of the four strongest in Asia and ranks among the top 20 in the world by GDP.

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Content provided by Derek Duncan exclusively for Sotheby’s International Realty®.