REINS (The Real Estate Information Network System) Eastern Japan recently released its monthly report for June 2015, and the key takeaway for the Tokyo metropolitan region is that the contracted per-square-meter sales price for second-hand condominiums has put in 30 consecutive months of year-on-year price increases, for an average per-square-meter price of 453,300yen/sqm (about $3,687 at today’s exchange rate). At this price per sqm, a 60-square meter (about 646 square feet) condo would have sold for about 27,198,000yen (about $227,887).
Sapporo
REINS also reported average sales data for Sapporo, the fourth largest city in Japan, and the capital of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost province. In 2010, the population of Sapporo was about 1.9 million.
In June, the average contracted sales price for a second-hand condo in Sapporo was about 197,000yen per square meter (up about 5% year-on-year versus June 2014), or about 43.4% of the cost in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Per-square-meter sales prices for second-hand condos in Sapporo have increased year-on-year every month for twelve consecutive months.
The average contracted sales price for a second-hand house in Sapporo was about 16,180,000yen (up about 1.6% year-on-year versus June 2014), compared to 30,380,000yen, or about 53.3% of the cost in Tokyo. Average sales price for second-hand houses in Sapporo have had six consecutive months of year-on-year increases.
Cold and Snow
As we described in a previous post, the cost of living in Hokkaido is lower than in Tokyo, but Japan’s northernmost prefecture has the highest average cost of heating/water/and sewage nationwide. The average two-person household in Hokkaido spent about 27,900yen a month in this expenditure category, about 16.5% higher than for the Tokyo metropolitan region.
Summers in Hokkaido are gorgeous, warm and low in humidity, as opposed to most of the rest of Japan; but winters are cold and very snowy. Sapporo has an average snowfall of 5.96m (over 19 feet) and the mean annual temperature is about 8.5 degrees C (about 47 degrees F). Sapporo is, of course, famous worldwide for its annual snow festival.
If you are planning on buying a second-hand condo or house in Hokkaido, be aware that keeping your home warm can be a major expenditure.
Sources: REINS Tower, July 10, 2015. Sapporo facts from Wikipedia.
Photo credit: iyoupapa