Taipei retirees flock to districts like Zhonghe and Tamsui for retirement homes

Taipei retirees flock to districts like Zhonghe and Tamsui for retirement homes

2023-08-04

The housing market seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, as the rise of real estate prices affects many would-be home buyers. Today we take a look at how older people are choosing new homes for retirement. For various reasons, many residents of greater Taipei choose to switch to a new apartment for their golden years. Redevelopment zones in districts like Zhonghe are extremely popular. Data shows that in last year alone, more than 1,200 new mortgages were signed by older adults in the district.

Many people plan to move house when they retire. In greater Taipei over the last year, the most popular district for retirement homes has been Zhonghe.

Member of public
You can get everywhere on the metro from Zhonghe. And probably some of the developments are good, and there’s parks and green spaces.

Member of public
You need convenient transport, and good amenities, which is simply markets, hospitals and banks.

Retirees say that amenities and medical care are the biggest factors in choosing a new home.

Statistics from the Joint Credit Information Center reveal the top three districts in Greater Taipei for new mortgages for over-65s over the last year. Zhonghe is no. 1, followed by Tamsui and Banqiao.

Huang Shu-wei
Property market expert
Taking Zhonghe as an example, there will be three metro lines in the future. Also there’s Shuang Ho Hospital. In Tamsui, you’ve got the metro Tamsui–Xinyi Line and the light rail, as well as MacKay Memorial Hospital nearby.

Tseng Ching-teh
Real estate case manager
These districts have some redevelopment zones. The person might sell their apartment in central Taipei and find a cheaper, better value apartment complex in the outskirts of greater Taipei.

Redevelopment zones are on the up, popular for retirees as homes to live out their golden years, as well as an investment to pass on wealth to descendants. That means those apartments’ prices continue to rise – and that entices even more people to the market.

退休族購屋置產新北"中和.淡水.板橋"熱區

2023-08-04

台灣即將進入超高齡社會，年長人口越來越多，許多民眾也都提早規劃退休生活，開始看屋買房，而根據資料數據顯示，雙北市65歲以上的民眾，近一年新增房貸件數超過1200件，其中買在中和最多，另外包括淡水、板橋等區域，也都相當熱門。

許多民眾規劃退休生活，都有買房換屋的打算，而看看最近一年以來，雙北市的退休族，最多人買在中和。

[[民眾]]
“中和捷運都會到，應該一些建設都還不錯，公園綠地。”

[[民眾]]
“交通要方便，生活機能要好，不外乎市場、醫院、銀行。”

退休族表示，如果買來自住，最在意生活機能和醫療資源。

根據聯徵中心統計，近一年雙北市65歲以上民眾，新增房貸件數，新北中和區排行第一，接著是淡水區、板橋區。

[[房市專家黃舒衛]]
“我們以中和為例，未來會有3條捷運線，再加上還有雙和醫院。那在淡水的部分，除了原來的紅線和輕軌，附近還有馬偕醫院。”

[[不動產企研室專案經理曾敬德]]
“這些區域有一些重劃區的環境，他可能把台北市中心的公寓賣掉，到外圍地區找比較平價，高CP值的大樓社區。”

不管是自住養老，還是為子女進行資產分配，重劃區正在發展階段，房價也相對抗跌，因此成為不少民眾鎖定的熱區。

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Typhoon Khanun may have left Taiwan, but Taiwan’s central and southern mountains were still bombarded with rain brought in by southwesterly winds Friday. The Central Weather Bureau issued heavy rain warnings in several areas on Friday, with the central county of Nantou receiving an "extremely torrential rain" warning. By 8:00 p.m., Nantou’s Ren’ai Township had accumulated more than 700 millimeters of rain, while accumulated rainfall in Chiayi and Kaohsiung broke the 300-millimeter mark. The CWB says this latest rain spell won’t let up until Sunday or even Monday when the southwesterlies weaken.

As Typhoon Khanun moves away from Taiwan, Yilan, now on the leeward side has been blasted by downslope winds and Foehn winds. Potted flowers and fruit trees on roadsides are parched from the heat.

Temperatures in this eastern county have risen sharply since Thursday night and at around 2:00 a.m. on Friday, a temperature of 36.1 degrees was measured in Yilan’s Dongshan Township. Foehn winds are heating up the island’s entire eastern half, with Chenggong Township in Taitung also experiencing an extremely high temperature of 37.7 degrees.

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Yesterday evening on Aug. 3 and in the early hours of this morning, an even stronger southwesterly air current came in. All the rain fell on the west side of the mountains, so for those of us on the eastern side, that brings down hot air.

While Taiwan’s eastern half baked in the heat, the western half was affected by the tail of Typhoon Khanun and southwesterly winds, which brought heavy rains throughout.

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In the south of a low pressure system that’s part of the monsoon, there’s a relatively strong southwesterly wind, and Taiwan is on the north side of the southwesterly winds. Some southwesterly winds are also blowing into the Taiwan Strait. Therefore the region of the Taiwan Strait is mainly an environment with westerly winds. This makes the mountainous areas have more continual and significant rain.

Ren’ai Township in Nantou County had the most accumulated rainfall in Taiwan, and that caused many accidents. For instance, a landslide left the Indigenous Toda Village cut off to the outside world.

Typhoon Khanun’s outer bands also brought storms to mountainous areas in Chiayi. Train services on the main and branch lines of the Alishan Forest Railway were suspended due to landslides.

The Central Weather Bureau forecasts that Taichung, Nantou and mountainous areas south of Chiayi will continue to see rain through Saturday night and until Sunday.

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Torrential rains will continue hitting the area. Looking at the situation now, the daily accumulated rainfall may be more than 350 millimeters in the next day or two.

The rain’s not expected to let up significantly until Sunday or Monday at the earliest. Residents in the central and southern regions are advised to remain alert.

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Foodies take note. The Taiwan Culinary Exhibition opened its doors in Taipei on Friday. More than 600 booths are serving up every kind of food imaginable -- from humble bites to lavish seafood dishes. Not only does the event showcase the vibrancy of Taiwan’s food scene, it also serves up many special offers, including discounts for luxury buffets and hotel stay packages.

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Student
He uses sponges, because he goes to the beach and picks up things that aren’t usable and turns them into art.

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Chu Chien-yuan
Eco-friendly artist
I used to work as a locomotive driver for TRA – a train driver, in other words. The school principal has given me this platform to express my artistic skill.

Fang Chun-chin
Da Si primary School principal
He makes art related to shells. We wanted to introduce his work to all our alumni in our school’s centenary exhibition. And it was an instant hit.

Chu hopes that some of the school’s students will be inspired by the exhibition to develop their own creative relationship with nature.

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