Young Taiwanese find it hard to buy a home as wealth gap widens

Workers want new govt to prioritise tackling stagnant wages, soaring housing prices: Poll

- Yip Wai Yee

The first thing Taiwanese social media specialist Simon Hsieh does at a convenience store is hunt for round stickers.

Pasted on food products, the stickers indicate that the item is near expiration and is therefore being sold at a discount - often for as much as 35 per cent off.

Mr Hsieh, 26, is particularly excited when his favourite salmon roe onigiri (rice ball) or mapo tofu rice go on sale.

"I'm not too picky about food and I need to save every dollar I can. I hope to buy an apartment one day, but things in Taipei are so expensive and I do not earn very much," he said.

Mr Hsieh's monthly salary is NT$38,500 (S$1,600), but nearly a third goes to renting a room in a flat that he shares with two others.

He sends a portion of his income to his parents living in rural Miaoli county in western Taiwan, and tries to save as much as he can of the rest.

"Sometimes I feel like my dream of buying a home is impossible," he said. "I hope that the new government can do something to help." Mr Hsieh is not alone. Among those who are new to the workforce, home ownership is proving to be more elusive compared with in the past.

In 1993, the ratio of house price to annual income in Taipei was around 8.03, but it spiked to 15.5 by 2023. That means it would be nearly twice as hard for someone to afford a home today.

Ahead of President-elect Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20, Taiwanese workers say the top issues they want the incoming government to prioritise are stagnant wages and soaring housing prices, according to a poll on April 30 by popular jobs portal IIII.