Highrise apartments are going up everwhere, accompanied these days by "highrise prices." Even residences perched on hillsides are going for NT$200,000 per ping (3.3 m2). Is that right? Is it reasonable? (Chuang Kung-ju)

In an online survey of people's 10 biggest grievances, conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission in late November 2009, "the cost of urban housing" ranked first. Although the government has since taken several steps to "exert downward pressure," the price of housing has in fact only risen higher. Exactly how high are housing costs in Taiwan? And what is pushing real-estate prices to rise?

With Taiwan's real-estate market booming, construction-industry insiders often appear on television, arguing that "compared to Hong Kong and Japan, housing isn't expensive here." Predicting that real-estate prices will continue to rise, they urge consumers to "hurry up and buy." Are housing costs high or not? Opinions vary. Of course, every property is different. It is hard to compare homes that vary in terms of location, age, and quality. And what baseline should be used to judge whether real-estate prices are expensive or cheap? That's also key.