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Annual salary not reaching 1.5 million! A man from Taichung was discouraged from applying for the new youth housing loan by a public bank: You're too poor
The new youth housing loan was originally seen as a ray of hope for young people in Taiwan to buy houses, but it has been reported that public banks require an annual salary of 1.5 million; otherwise, applicants will be discouraged, causing extreme dissatisfaction among the affected individuals. (Background: Is the housing market about to collapse? The crash in the stock market has led to a surge in those selling houses to save stocks, and mortgage business phone calls come in endlessly.)
Taiwan's housing prices have been rising, and the new youth housing loan is seen as a lifeline for first-time buyers, yet there is a stark contrast emerging from the bank lending side. According to ETtoday's report, a 32-year-old man surnamed Lai from Taichung met the government's loan application conditions for the new youth housing loan, but was politely rejected by a public bank due to "annual salary not reaching 1.5 million." First-time buyers are heartbroken. In this case, Mr. Lai invested 12 million NTD to purchase a new property in Taichung's non-old urban area in 2022, with a unit price of 470,000 NTD and a size of 24 ping including a parking space. Recently entering the guarantee phase, he was discouraged by the cooperating public bank for "salary and location" dual reasons, feeling like he was rejected for being too poor. The new youth housing loan with an interest rate of 1.775% feels unattainable, making it extremely frustrating. Mr. Lai complained to the media: The bank's reason was that my annual salary is not 1.5 million, plus the project is not within the urban planning scope of Taichung City, so they won't approve the loan. Which first-time buyer working hard for themselves can have an annual salary of 1.5 million?
Central bank's tightening chain reaction
The Central Bank's press release after the March meeting indicated that the loan-to-value ratio for second-home mortgages has dropped from 60% to 50%, and some loans are required to cancel the grace period. Industry insiders reveal that an annual salary of 1.5 million has become a review "industry standard," and even banks that handle construction loans are only willing to allocate limits to VIPs. Mr. Lai continues to complain to the media: Supervisors in our company with around 30 years of experience have a chance to reach an annual salary of 1.5 million, but our basic employees with a monthly salary of 50,000 are already doing quite well. Although there are other banks to apply for loans, the interest rates, terms, and grace periods are not more favorable. So what is the meaning of 'new youth housing loan'? The complaints from traditional industry employees reflect the financial institutions' rapidly increasing risk awareness. The interest rates on the new youth housing loan projects offered by banks have also become a reason for considering discouraging applicants due to "not earning enough."
