New-build home prices near several tech parks in New Taipei City, Taiwan, have begun to fall — good news for would-be buyers, bad news for homeowners and developers.

• New-build prices in the neighbourhoods around the three tech parks in Linkou, Zhonghe and Xindian dropped by 1% to 5% over the past year.
• The housing market has shifted from a bull run to a period of consolidation, with areas that rose too far in recent years now pulling back.
• Over the past five years, new-build prices around New Taipei's seven major tech parks rose 68%, outpacing the 59% seen at Taipei's three main parks, mainly because they started from a lower base.
• The trend is uneven: new builds at the Neihu Technology Park and the Xinzhuang Knowledge-Based Industrial Park are still rising, with gains of more than 10%.
• A tech park is no guarantee of house prices; ultimately it comes down to the industrial and employment fundamentals of each district.

Outlook: tech clusters remain the main source of buying interest, and areas with stable employment and good local amenities are better placed to hold up, while others may see consolidation continue.