The lack of housing in Taipei is really starting to worry me

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
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Honestly, I’m starting to get really worried about finding a place in time for when I arrive.

I check 591 every day but it seems that if you don’t call within minutes of it being posted, then all the half-decent places will be taken. I am relying on some of my future coworkers who are native Taiwanese to call these places, but they also have work to do. I can’t expect them to be swooping down like a hawk at my beck and call.

Is this my only option? Just hoping that one place out of 50 will show up and not be taken immediately? It worries me how little there seems to be in Taipei within my budget, and I even bumped it up from my initial prospecting.

I think I will have to ask the coworkers what bus lines drop directly outside the office (I know there’s at least one). That may be an option if I can find what areas that bus line goes into.

Otherwise, I’m not looking forward to the idea of having to try to find a temporary place that isn’t going to drain me dry until I find a place after repeatedly spamming F5 on 591…

Any other avenues I should consider before I start freaking out?

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There are a few other housing sites, but 591 is the biggest. What’s your budget and ideal home? That makes a big difference. If you PM me, I can help you identify bus routes and alternative options for places to live.

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Sent, thank you!

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It would be insane to find a place before you arrive. Get a studio on airbnb for a couple of weeks and look when you are here.

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This. What he said. You are aiming for a lot of pain if you do.

It is a good thing you have local help, but as you noticed, they are pretty busy. Moreover, they have a different point of view. However, they are a safety device. DO NOT sign any contract from afar. Do not sign any contract by yourself. Always have a witness, always have a local check it out. No, English contracts do not carry the same weight.

First of all, there is no lack of housing. There are plenty of homes. Everywhere. Your budget is the problem -well, to be honest, everyone’s budget. Why? Because it is our constraint. It is also our weakness. Why? Because only newbies pay 35K to live in Shida Road, that is why. You have to understand the value of each area and the layout of the city. Location as more important than the place itself.

We call this the Steak Syndrome. If you go to a Wellcome -local middle of the road supermarket- a 100 NTD -3 USD- steak may not be the tastiest, may not be real steak at all, but it will do. However, you are not allowed to say on the basis of that that there are no steaks in Taiwan. You can go to Costco and pay about a 1000 NTD for a tray full of imported steaks. Some people can pay the Outback, others are students who treat themselves to a 110 NTD steak meal at the night market once a month. You do what you can.

As said, it is not as if you will not have a place to live. Plenty available, rally nice stuff. Airbnb is your answer for while you look, hopefully with a gracious host who will help you get acquainted with the city.

For example, if you work in Dunhua Road, please, for Pete’s sake, do not pick a home right on Dunhua road. A small alley place will be more quiet. Public transportation is cheap and convenient in Taipei. If it was Taichung -car a must- or Yilan -scooter then- but here, a bike and an Easy Card go a long way. Adapt to local conditions -except when it comes to unhealthy living environments, like living on a main road, in a place without air conditioning or no windows or any other horrors.

Try kijiji.com.tw or better, wait, come here, choose an area, and focus the search there.

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Yes, this is adding too much unnecessary stress. I need to take a step back and breathe (sometimes I have to have other people help drill this into my head). Don’t worry though; I’d never sign anything without seeing it myself. That’s just dumb.

I think what really freaked me out was seeing someone in another thread saying that it took them 2 months to find something. I can’t afford to spend 2 months in an AirBnB.

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What she said, look when you come here.

Only word of caution is that the rental market is hotter now than it has been for a long time. People give up on buying and they rent instead, and that means that there are more people in the market looking for a rental.

If you see somewhere nice and affordable and you want to live there, then take it fast.

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[quote=“sharpie”]Yes, this is adding too much unnecessary stress. I need to take a step back and breathe (sometimes I have to have other people help drill this into my head). Don’t worry though; I’d never sign anything without seeing it myself. That’s just dumb.

I think what really freaked me out was seeing someone in another thread saying that it took them 2 months to find something. I can’t afford to spend 2 months in an AirBnB.[/quote]

Again, depends on which Airbnb. I was looking for a friend who spent a month here studying. There was a fantastic 17K place, new, elevator, with lots of sunshine, views of CKS Memorial hall, stone’s throw from MRT. That sounds quite reasonable for the area. It was even cheaper in Xindian or Muzha, even within 2 minutes of MRT. And I mean, a whole apartment for you, no sharing.

There is still room, no need to panic. Truly, it is starting to dawn on people that paying 70K a month for mortgage is not the wisest thing when the same place can be rented for 25k. Think in local terms. If your salary is 50k, there is a limit to your rent. If your salary is 25k, that ceiling is lower. The key is, as a foreigner, look for the stuff locals do not like. Like 4th floors. And big windows. But NO basements, Ok?

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[quote=“Icon”]

Again, depends on which Airbnb. I was looking for a friend who spent a month here studying. There was a fantastic 17K place, new, elevator, with lots of sunshine, views of CKS Memorial hall, stone’s throw from MRT. That sounds quite reasonable for the area. It was even cheaper in Xindian or Muzha, even within 2 minutes of MRT. And I mean, a whole apartment for you, no sharing.

There is still room, no need to panic. Truly, it is starting to dawn on people that paying 70K a month for mortgage is not the wisest thing when the same place can be rented for 25k. Think in local terms. If your salary is 50k, there is a limit to your rent. If your salary is 25k, that ceiling is lower. The key is, as a foreigner, look for the stuff locals do not like. Like 4th floors. And big windows. But NO basements, Ok?[/quote]

I wish there was a way to filter by floor number, but it’s not always correct. For instance, I went to go look at a couple places while I was out for my in-person interview with the company and when we got there we realized it was on the 8th floor (elevator building). They had put that it was on the 3rd.

Big windows makes sense that people wouldn’t want, because it’s a hassle during typhoon season. However, I would love big windows (except it’d be a hassle in the typhoon season lol).

My budget is $23,000NT. I think that is workable but I am seeing way more for $25k+ (I am very picky about the bathroom)

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I’ve noticed a big decline in the amount of housing available as well. I’ve been checking 591 daily and there hasn’t been anything in the area I want for four months! I’ve been in Taiwan for almost a decade and have never had such a hard time. I’m hoping it’s a seasonal thing. Maybe people just don’t move as much during summer months. I used to typically move in the spring. I’ve also heard that it’s unlucky to move during ghost month, which starts next week. Maybe that’s keeping people from moving, too. I hope this dry spell passes soon! I hate my current apartment and am desperate to get out of here.

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Guys, maybe it is actually because there are more options. What you mean to say is that there are no good apartments on 591, not that there are no good apartments anywhere. While 591 is the biggest, it is also non selective. Anyone puts an ad, anyone replies. With so many other websites, real estate companies, heck, community boards and other media to get the word out there that you have a place, probably there is diversification of the market. Maybe the ones you want are at some real estate agency. Maybe you need to make friends with the local hardware store owner -like I did- in order to get access to a coveted spot. My advice? Try every thing. It is a luck based thing.

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Any ideas of where to start looking for these things? Is there a list of reputable agencies, or do these agencies even have websites?

Or, again, is this the kind of information that can only be gleaned while there?

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Come here, choose an area you like that suits you, and focus the search there. There should be agencies in that area. Most are reputable, most have websites, but the best goodies are kept in files.

Come here and then search.

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Yup. Done the agencies too. Five agencies in fact that surround the area where I want to live. And I should say that our budget is higher than average, so it’s not a price issue. Even the real estate guys said we would be waiting awhile. Things are definitely changing.

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Maybe people choose diversity. I think Airbnb is also affecting, as owners profit more from it.

Certain areas overcrowded or savvy agents?

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Never had a problem looking for a place in Taipei or in Taiwan, hard to believe it’s reallly that difficult especially with all the new MRT lines opening up new areas to live.Try looking in new taipei city not taipei city as some places rent due to proximity to famous schools.

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We are looking in New Taipei City. :frowning:. I remember when we first moved to the area, there were three apartments available in just our building at the same time. Countless others in other building. Now six years later, nothing in any of the buildings. We moved because we had a child and needed a bigger place. We decided to try living closer to my husband’s work, but it’s terrible. Living in Taipei city sucks. Way too noisy. If I had known it would be so hard to get back to our old neighborhood, I never would have left. But that’s life I guess. Live and learn. I’m not sure what else we can do. I check the websites daily, visit agents, talk to security guards. It just isn’t as easy as it used to be.

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I think it might be timing this time of year that is making things worse?
Certainly in other areas of Taiwan finding a place to rent is a piece of cake.
Perhaps New Taipei City is filling up with families who prefer to rent rather than buying a place in Taoyuan in a tanking market. Could be something to that.
We got our place in Xindian around this time last year, there were a few options in Neihu, Xindian etc, 3bdroom apartments 20k-30k range, all found on 591. Another place came up in the same building a few months ago and was actually cheaper. Anyway, it is true you need to move fast on the more affordable stuff as Taiwanese are extremely price sensitive, they have a budget. All the decent places at the right price would rent out almost immediately. I have heard from a landlord that some Taiwanese rent apartments without even seeing them, as long as it matched their budget and was in a given area.
Very very few could go above 30k/mth, for obvious reasons. Probably most would sit between 15k-25k. You can see the numbers of people who view apartments which are relatively cheap for a given area, it could be 5X other places.

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We’ve been in Taipei since Monday, looking for apartments in the Muzha area near NCCU. There seem to be plenty of 3 and 4 bedroom apartments around here for 25-30K, but 1 or 2 bedroom apts seem nearly impossible to find. We did look at a 2BD apartment that we liked on our first day and made the (stupid) mistake of “sleeping on it.” (We’re from Los Angeles where one can actually do that.) Of course, it was rented a couple of hours after we saw it. Lesson learned.

Is there a real shortage of 1-2 bedroom apartments here, or are we just having bad luck finding them at the moment?

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[quote=“greander”]We’ve been in Taipei since Monday, looking for apartments in the Muzha area near NCCU. There seem to be plenty of 3 and 4 bedroom apartments around here for 25-30K, but 1 or 2 bedroom apts seem nearly impossible to find. We did look at a 2BD apartment that we liked on our first day and made the (stupid) mistake of “sleeping on it.” (We’re from Los Angeles where one can actually do that.) Of course, it was rented a couple of hours after we saw it. Lesson learned.

Is there a real shortage of 1-2 bedroom apartments here, or are we just having bad luck finding them at the moment?[/quote]

Now, I agree with you. For a supposedly student area, NCCU’s surroundings are a bit lacking in choices. I think the best ones are a bit up the hill from NCCU’s affiliated school. Down by Muxin road there are some new developments… at hair raising prices. Can’t figure out why.

However, the whole area itself, dunno why, still lacks variety in terms of basic amenities such supermarkets -same one or two that were there when I was a student… more than a decade ago, same 4 restaurants. Bit of improvement at the gates with Starbucks, if you all that improvement… and that’s it. To be fair, even Shida has been shrinking its options, but that is mostly due to greed. Alas, I do miss the breakfast place at NCCU…

Which is why students head to Xindian or Gongguan, as hence you are at least close to more meal and shopping and entertainment options, while still a direct bus ride away from the university -especially useful if you are stuck with hiking to the language center, I may say.