Tokyo-area new condominium prices rise 21.1% to record high
Rising prices and interest rates are slowing prospective buyers, with contracts signed in the launch month for 62.8% of new units.
- The average price for new condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area reached a record 114.94 million yen for the April-September period, a 21.1% increase from the previous year.
- This price surge was driven by higher construction costs and a significant 34.7% price increase for expensive units in central Tokyo's 23 special wards.
- The price increase was not uniform across the region; while Tokyo's core and Chiba saw sharp rises, the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa and Saitama experienced slight declines.
- The high prices and rising interest rates are causing buyers to hesitate, leading to slower sales activity and an increase in unsold inventory.
Prices for newly launched condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area fell year on year for a second consecutive month in September, even as the April–September average reached a record 114.94 million yen.
The Real Estate Economic Institute Co. released the findings on Tuesday (October 20).
Higher construction costs and expensive central Tokyo units helped lift the metropolitan average by 21.1% from a year earlier.
The figures cover Tokyo together with the neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.
The first half of fiscal 2026 was the first April–September period in which this average exceeded 100 million yen.
The September results diverged between Tokyo’s 23 special wards and the wider metropolitan area.
A 1.3% year-on-year rise brought the wards’ monthly average to 139.4 million yen, against a 4.1% fall to 95.52 million yen for the metropolitan area.
Limited new supply in popular locations, except in Chiba, accounted for the broader decline.
Both the 23 wards and Chiba recorded increases over the full six months.
In the wards, a 34.7% rise produced a record average of 179.25 million yen, while Chiba’s average of 73.76 million yen was 24.1% higher than a year before.
Kanagawa and Saitama moved in the other direction over the fiscal half.
Their respective averages of 77.16 million yen and 64.57 million yen represented year-on-year declines of 1.6% and 2.1%.
Purchasing decisions were taking longer, with the institute pointing to rising prices as one of the reasons.
Higher interest rates were also slowing activity among potential buyers, according to Tadashi Matsuda, a senior researcher at the institute.
Inventories were higher than a year earlier, while the share of new units securing contracts within their month of launch stayed below 70% for a third successive six-month period.
For April–September, that share was 62.8%.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
