I am looking for some information on the state of the residential RE market in Taichung area (including Tiachung County). Specifically, which areas appear to be on the rise?, what is the price range of homes in Taichung overall and the developing areas in particular? I’ve attempted to access listings via internet but everything is in Chinese (no surprise there). My wife is not into researching this as much as I and is more relaxed about dealing with it closer to our expected date of departure.
We are planning to move to Taiwan in ~3 years. I will be visiting for several weeks in the spring and would like to do a bit of advance scouting but need to narrow the field down if possible. I am not looking for precise quotes - though that would be nice if available. Just want to get a general feel for where to spend my effort and what to expect.
I think our expectations can be described as fairly modest. Our house here in the U.S. was built in 1950 and is small by current American standards (3 bed 2 full full bath - one of which we added). I think we would be looking for something comparable. My in-laws had a house in the Nantun area (between Hwy. 74 and Section 4 Huanzhong Rd.) - a 4 story, 4 bed, 2 full bath townhouse style (sharing a wall with neghbors) which compared very favorably with our current house size-wise. I recall my MIL indicating the price was ~$150K US - not sure how accurate that was or is. The last time we visted (Spring 2010) there was a good bit of prepatory work for what seemed to be major development project. My in-laws have since moved from the area but I am curious as to the present and expected state of development in the area
Locating to the “countryside” (Beitun, Guoxing, Taiping, Dongshi) is also a possibility as we have some friends in mountains - but I have no idea re: availability, price of houses in any of those locales.
Quality of schools and possible access to American/International secondary/high schools is also a consideration if anyone is able to comment.
There is an area of high end apartment development in the Shi Jeng area (behind the new city hall). Prices have gone through the roof in that area - Starting off at $700K USD and up for smaller apartments there (double that for bigger ones). No street vendors or even convenience stores there, strictly high end furniture and department stores (mixed in with the odd KTV).
There are new high rises going up all over the place around the city - I’m sure better deals can be found, depending on the area of the city. As you go away from downtown, I’m sure prices go down further.
Another consideration would be the MRT that is currently being developed - I’m sure apartments and buildings near future MRT stations may see a bump up in value.
As far as American schools in Taichung, I believe Morrisson is the only one - they are in Beitun, which is an older area, so apartments should be cheaper in that area.
Take a look at sale.591.com.tw/ and enter different parts of Taichung to see sale prices of apartments. It’s all in Chinese, but if you’re using Chrome, you may be able to use Google Translate to get an idea.
150k USD sounds far too cheap for an individual house , especially in Nantun is very popular due to schools, parks and yes Costco and Ikea (to come soon). Check the site Adam gave above for details. Taichung is quite a big city, in my opinion it’s better to rent here first and then figure out where you want to live. There are many new apartments going up and enough land zoned to last decades I’d say.
Adam and HH-Thanks for the replies. We will defintely check out the link. Yes, we plan to rent at first while we look for something more permanent. Sounds like Taichung is either in the midst of or just entering a real estate bubble (perhaps only in certain areas). Adam - You mentioned development of MRT. Any links that would provide details on the plan and or status of development? Thanks again.
I just visited a friend whose neighbor is moving out of their home in Dakeng. It is on a hillside gated community on the main road between Taichung city proper (10 minutes) and Xinshe city. Their home was 4 bedrooms, with 2 bathrooms, 3 floors and living and family room. 100ping size. Price was starting at less than 5million NT.
I agree, you should rent first. Life changes too much in the first 2 years in Taiwan, let yourself figure your own needs better after experiencing things here.
you can’t live in those hillside communities - those that aren’t falling into the ground are infected with the little black biting insects. But that goes for many places in Taichung.
[quote=“TaiwaneseStomach”]I just visited a friend whose neighbor is moving out of their home in Dakeng. It is on a hillside gated community on the main road between Taichung city proper (10 minutes) and Xinshe city. Their home was 4 bedrooms, with 2 bathrooms, 3 floors and living and family room. 100ping size. Price was starting at less than 5million NT.
I agree, you should rent first. Life changes too much in the first 2 years in Taiwan, let yourself figure your own needs better after experiencing things here.[/quote]
Thanks for the information. My wife was born and raised inTaichung and a good part of her extended family lives in Taichung so some aspects of the move might not be too bad. She is quite comfortable with the idea of moving and is not at all worried about our ability to find suitable housing and schools - I on the other hand…need to build a comfort level. We will defintely rent for a time when we arrive. You referenced 100 ping in size. Sounds small (1K sq. ft.?) but the price you quote is about what I have come to expect. I anticipate using every bit (and possibly more) of what I net from the sale of my house in the U.S. to purchase a house in or around Taichung (assuming prices in Taichung don’t explode in the next 3 years). Did the house have any type of yard or garden area?
What was your general impression impression of the area?
Dakeng is a hilly area outside of Taichung city. Basically housing outside can be fairly cheap, <5 million NTD, but inside the city proper would be >5 million NTD and possibly no car parking and smaller. Taiwan doesn’t have suburbs like the West. They tend to have gated communities. Also many of these gated communities on hills face earthquake and typhoon risk, especially in Dakeng which was damaged badly in an earthquake 13 years ago. They also tend to be oldish as they went out of fashion in the last few years. You need a car or scooter to go anywhere. Sometimes they degrade with the humidity although Taichung is not so bad in that respect. You will see when you arrive here. There is gated community housing in the city too but you will pay top dollar, often for places with no yard. I know a famous place that was designed for western airforce and business people , it is like a mini suburb (surrounded by barbed wire and fencing lol) that has yards and parks and a swimming pool but it would cost up to 1 million dollars to buy a house there. To rent a house is about 1,100 USD a month.
Everything tends to concentrate in the cities. It depends on the lifestyle you want and you family requirements. 100 ping is a massive place in Taiwan, most people live in 30-40 ping apartments. Living in an apartment is not so bad, it can be convenient and secure and also lots of choices and they usually include parking. Many are brand new too.
Prices for renting or purchasing in Taichung would be a lot less than Taipei, so it could be worse!
Head Honcho described Dakeng well and I agree generally with his impression of the area. Its probably a 15 minute drive or so to Morrison Academy if you want an American education for your kids. The house is literally on the same ridge as a major earthquake fault, so that is a risk. I didn’t get a good look at it, but there wasn’t a yard visible, just a tiny courtyard and large balcony deck. Swimming pool and tennis courts in the gated community. Their neighbors are Americans who’ve lived there some 5 years or so and seem really happy there. Yes there are midges in the area, but with time you adapt and learn to avoid them better.
Another good option for schooling are the Waldorf schools which offer a European approach to education but in the Chinese language. There are some threads on Forumosa about that. I think the schools you want your kids to attend should influence your decision too.
Thanks for the replies. Very helpful to get the perspective of people who have been there (literally) and done that.
I did not take the midges comment seriously figuring that Taiwan in general is infested with mosquitos of every type. I mentioned it to my wife and she confirmed that the Dakeng area in particular has this variety of mosquito (or whatever it is). Anyway, she said they are quite small and that in her experience the bites are extremely itchy.
Yep, they are called Xiao Hei Wen (literally little black mosquito). Interestingly they were first discovered (scientifically discovered perhaps) a few decades ago on Da dun mountain in Taichung, where I live. Although I have never come across them here on the mountain as the area must have changed a lot.
They are different to mosquitoes in their behaviour. They are active in the heat of day, and do not need as much moisture, they like disturbed ground or grassland on the edge of forests. They are tiny and appear as black dots to the eye.
For a longtime I assumed they were an imported pest as they only spread around Taiwan in the last few years (and because the first place I encountered them was in Sabah in Malaysia, not Taiwan). Their bites are very itchy and troublesome and can make a place very unattractive to visit or spend much time in. Similar to the effects of sandflies if you have experience with them (although xiao hei wen draw blood whereas sandflies pee on you and you get a reaction to that).
I find it a fascinating and slightly horrifying story, I don’t know if they have bred with some foreign Xiao Hei WEN or is it global warming or land development or tourism which has suddenly caused them to spread all over Taiwan!
I moved to a hillside community in Dakeng about 3 months ago. EVERYONE warned me about the little black biting insencts. We even moved here at the height of the summer when they are at their worse.
N-o-t a p-r-o-b-l-e-m.
I wonder if it USED to be a problem? But seriously, I was so worried I was going to be eaten the fuck out of all the time by them buggers, but has not been an issue AT ALL.
Now, the huge spiders I see around and the occasional snake…those worry me.
EDIT
The vast majority of the hillside housing complexes, are not, um, “falling into the ground” there are some REALLY nice ones, much nicer than mine, and mine is well maintained.
There is one not too far from here that is abosolutely beautiful, each house has a back yard, the houses are seperated (in my community they are all touching) and they go for around 25000 nt/month. Where I live is half of that.
And dakeng is FULL of foreigners. I see more foreigners here on a daily basis than I do anywhere outside perhaps the busy area by gongyi rd and zhongming south rd. I used to live in central Beitun and there were far fewer foreigners there than here.
We have a bar like thing called the Refuge (never been, but its minutes from my house) a foreigner run sandwich shop with REAL WESTERN STYLE sandwiches. Dakeng is a happening place. Most people who are down on it just take their opinions from Taiwanese people who hate adding an extra 15 mins to their daily commutes and for some reason think the place is infested with midges.
Some of the communities here are MAINLY foreigners, like Venus (which has a pool). So come check it out when you get here. Feel free to send me a pm ifya want and I can showya around.
But yes, you will definitely need transportation as only a few buses come out here and it may be quite a hike from your house to the closest bus stop.
Thanks for the reply Confuzius. Always good to hear multiple views on this type of thing. As with any place (including the U.S. and other “western” contries) - opinions defintely vary. Some people love NYC while you could not pay others to live there. I lived in west Texas (Midland, Amarillo) for 12 years and was quite happy but most people who are not from that area seem to hate it.
Yeah, seems clear that transportation from even moderately outlying areas around Taichung proper means at least a scooter and perhaps even a car. I am curious though…would an occasional trip between Taichung and Dakeng be realistic on a scooter? We would have a car but for routine trips that do not involve the family or loads of stuff a scooter would be preferable (but I would rather not risk my life). I realize that traveling anywhere in Taiwan on a scooter is a risky proposition but would a trip between Taichung and Dakeng on a scooter be significantly more risky than average?..would a scooter be Although the midges may be a problem, I would agree that seeing a giant spider (which I have heard about but have never seen) or a snake (any of type) would probably freak me out more.
Hopefully, we will be able to check the area out while I am there in the spring.
Happening in Taichung these days is one kind of a bar for hippies and a place that makes real sandwiches . And it’s probably the truth too.
Dakeng isn’t too bad , but I have spent time living in Miaoli before, and the crappest corner of Miaoli county is nicer than this scenic highlight of Taichung. Dakeng is a run down, badly developed, earthquake damaged area that once was a very popular tourist spot. It’s still a good place for hiking for Taichung people.
To answer the question, yes it is easy to scooter in and out of town if you so wish.
[quote=“Timabee”]
Yeah, seems clear that transportation from even moderately outlying areas around Taichung proper means at least a scooter and perhaps even a car. I am curious though…would an occasional trip between Taichung and Dakeng be realistic on a scooter? We would have a car but for routine trips that do not involve the family or loads of stuff a scooter would be preferable (but I would rather not risk my life). I realize that traveling anywhere in Taiwan on a scooter is a risky proposition but would a trip between Taichung and Dakeng on a scooter be significantly more risky than average?..would a scooter be Although the midges may be a problem, I would agree that seeing a giant spider (which I have heard about but have never seen) or a snake (any of type) would probably freak me out more.[/quote]
I commute to the city on my scooter at LEAST 4 days a week. Sometimes I even go to the city…come home for a cpl hours, then go back to the city (so 2 commutes in one day). It really only adds 15 mins to commutes each way at the most. Unless you have stuff out in Shalu (which is just way the hell out there) then commuting is not a huge deal.
My wife commutes 5 days a week to Dali district, takes her like a half hour.
It is no riskier than average. Honestly, driving in Dakeng is much less stressful as there is a lot less traffic, so the added commute time is actually nice, chill driving.
If you like TX (never lived there, originally from KY myself, though lived in Sedona for a long while too…so I like the peace and quiet) you will definitely prefer Dakeng. Taiwan cities in general, look like slums; they are dingy, overpopulated, noisy, etc. Taichung I have heard is a bit worse in some ways because even though it has a smaller population, the city layout and the buldings are older…so honestly its just kinda nasty in most places. Some people like nasty, as you said, some people LOVE NYC (I lived there too…but hated every minute of it and would run away to Rockland County for the weekend every chance I got) so maybe you like noisy slummy ville. If not, Dakeng is your choice.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]Happening in Taichung these days is one kind of a bar for hippies and a place that makes real sandwiches . And it’s probably the truth too.
Dakeng isn’t too bad , but I have spent time living in Miaoli before, and the crappest corner of Miaoli county is nicer than this scenic highlight of Taichung. Dakeng is a run down, badly developed, earthquake damaged area that once was a very popular tourist spot. It’s still a good place for hiking for Taichung people.[/quote]
Most people do prefer Miaoli, I have never been so cannot speak of it.
Dakeng isnt all run down and earthquake damaged though. There’s like one elementary school they turned into an earthquake museum (of sorts…just posted signs about the earthquake and left the ruins standing for some reason) but besides that there’s no broken down buildings just standing around.
But in terms of being a happening place…this is Taichung. But the OP is a family man, so I do not think he is going to be on the prowl looking to raise hell. Taichung as a whole is not a happening place whatsoever…shoot, I was super excited to find a western sandwich shop! There’s only a couple in the city itself and they charge like 300nt for the cheapest sandwich, where this place is like 140 for the most expensive. (wow, I am boring, but yes, that makes me very happy)
Hey Confucious I understand your excitement on new discoveries. You gotta enjoy these things.
I forgot to mention my favorite thing about dakeng are the monkeys at the camping site there.
I’ve lived in a few places in Taiwan and I actually think Taichung has very good options for housing and much better street layouts than most places. There are tonnes of newish and big apartments for rent cheap. You can even rent a house without breaking the bank, just not possible in Taipei. I’m sure the place you live in now would be a Hao Hua Bie Shu in Taipei. It’s also relatively uncrowded and traffic is much lighter than Taipei. There are plenty of decent coffeeshops and teahouses and restaurants. It’s easygoing but big enough to have almost everything you need. My main gripe with Taichung is lack of beaches, double parking, public transport and air pollution, but overall it’s one of the best cities to live in in Taiwan. We are considering a move to Hsinchu for work and it’s not a very enticing prospect, it was sunny and warm again today…as it is most of the year here.
. And it’s probably the truth too.
. And it’s probably the truth too.