Taiwan semiconductor boom drives mega surge in home prices

The chip sector’s economic impact on the housing market has long been evident in Hsinchu city and county. - Bloomberg

TAIPEI: Taipei-based banking officer Stanley Kuo’s aspirations are, in his own words, typical: work in the bustling capital in northern Taiwan for some years, then return to his native Kaohsiung in the south to buy his first home.

But property prices have soared so much, even in Taiwan’s traditionally cheaper south, that this dream feels increasingly out of reach for the 36-year-old.