The costs of a custom-built-home in Japan can roughly be divided into two main categories: the cost of buying the land and the construction costs.
Here are the costs of building a house in Japan, based on the nationwide average of homes built in 2020.
- Cost of land: ¥14,361,000 ($126,319 USD)
- Cost of construction: ¥29,612,000 ($260,514 USD)
- Total cost: ¥43,973,000 ($387,000 USD)
These averages are based on data from the Japan Housing Finance Agency‘s survey of homes built in 2020. To put the numbers in better context, let’s take a look at the average floor area and land area purchased:
Category | Amount |
Total floor area of house in square meters | 111.1 sqm |
Total land area in square meters | 219.1 sqm |
Construction cost in JPY | ¥29,612,000 |
Land cost in JPY | ¥14,361,000 |
Total cost in JPY | ¥43,973,000 |
Approx cost per sqm (Total Cost / Floor Area) in JPY | ¥395,797 |
Approx cost of land per sqm (Land Cost / Total Land Area) in JPY | ¥65,545 |
Ratio of construction cost to cost of land | 2.06 |
In the nationwide average, the cost of construction is more than twice that of the cost of land, but as we can see from the chart below, the cost of land is much higher in urban areas, especially Tokyo. In Tokyo, the average amount people spent on buying land was more than 1.7 times the amount spent on construction.
An important point to note that not all land is comes ready to be built on. The land may need to be bulldozed and leveled, retaining walls built, trees chopped, etc. in order for the site to be ready to be hooked up to water, gas, and electricity utilities. This will add to the total cost. For more information on this, please see this article: Building a house in Japan
This data is provided to help our readers get a general idea of average market prices. Actual costs will, of course, vary and can also be controlled by your decisions regarding the size of the house, quality of materials, and what amenities you want.
There are also many other considerations about the structure that you can actually build due to regulations regarding the Floor Area Allowance (FAR), Building-to-Land ratio, and setback. More information on this, please see: Building a house in Japan.
How much does it cost to build a house in Japan: By Prefecture
Average Total Floor Area of House in Sqm |
Average Total Land Area in Sqm |
Average Construction Cost in JPY Million |
Average Land Cost in JPY Million |
Average Total Cost JPY |
Approx Cost Per Sqm (Total Cost / Floor Area) in JPY |
Approx Cost of Land Per Sqm (Last Cost / Total Land Area) in JPY |
|
Japan | 111.1 | 219.1 | 29.612 | 14.361 | 43.973 | 395,797 | 65,545 |
Hokkaido | 117.0 | 263.6 | 31.209 | 8.869 | 40.078 | 342,547 | 33,646 |
Aomori | 114.2 | 274.4 | 30.925 | 6.131 | 37.056 | 324,483 | 22,343 |
Iwate | 111.7 | 256.7 | 28.709 | 7.67 | 36.379 | 325,685 | 29,879 |
Miyagi | 115.0 | 261.1 | 29.866 | 11.765 | 41.631 | 362,009 | 45,059 |
Akita | 107.5 | 290.6 | 27.797 | 5.811 | 33.608 | 312,633 | 19,997 |
Yamagata | 111.3 | 294.4 | 28.999 | 7.601 | 36.6 | 328,841 | 25,819 |
Fukushima | 112.8 | 274.4 | 30.241 | 9.143 | 39.384 | 349,149 | 33,320 |
Ibaraki | 114.6 | 305.2 | 31.379 | 8.461 | 39.84 | 347,644 | 27,723 |
Tochigi | 117.5 | 312.1 | 31.157 | 8.216 | 39.373 | 335,089 | 26,325 |
Gunma | 113.4 | 304.8 | 29.204 | 7.817 | 37.021 | 326,464 | 25,646 |
Saitama | 110.4 | 190.2 | 29.872 | 17.214 | 47.086 | 426,504 | 90,505 |
Chiba | 111.2 | 210.6 | 30.093 | 14.231 | 44.324 | 398,597 | 67,574 |
Tokyo | 98.5 | 110.3 | 26.48 | 34.62 | 61.1 | 620,305 | 313,871 |
Kanagawa | 104.7 | 140.5 | 28.129 | 23.57 | 51.699 | 493,782 | 167,758 |
Niigata | 112.1 | 221.2 | 28.704 | 7.984 | 36.688 | 327,279 | 36,094 |
Toyama | 126.9 | 257.6 | 31.314 | 7.645 | 38.959 | 307,006 | 29,678 |
Ishikawa | 119.6 | 225.3 | 29.246 | 10.063 | 39.309 | 328,671 | 44,665 |
Fukui | 118.1 | 228.1 | 28.723 | 8.091 | 36.814 | 311,719 | 35,471 |
Yamanashi | 114.1 | 294.0 | 28.3 | 7.831 | 36.131 | 316,661 | 26,636 |
Nagano | 112.7 | 365.5 | 30.059 | 8.75 | 38.809 | 344,357 | 23,940 |
Gifu | 114.1 | 268.1 | 30.425 | 8.276 | 38.701 | 339,185 | 30,869 |
Shizuoka | 113.6 | 234.1 | 31.225 | 11.852 | 43.077 | 379,199 | 50,628 |
Aichi | 115.4 | 192.7 | 31.449 | 16.893 | 48.342 | 418,908 | 87,665 |
Mie | 116.0 | 269.0 | 30.863 | 9.051 | 39.914 | 344,086 | 33,647 |
Shiga | 114.5 | 221.8 | 29.718 | 10.992 | 40.71 | 355,546 | 49,558 |
Kyoto | 107.8 | 167.8 | 28.514 | 16.149 | 44.663 | 414,314 | 96,240 |
Osaka | 109.7 | 132.2 | 27.43 | 19.952 | 47.382 | 431,923 | 150,923 |
Hyogo | 113.0 | 188.8 | 30.239 | 15.48 | 45.719 | 404,593 | 81,992 |
Nara | 112.6 | 207.0 | 29.927 | 12.997 | 42.924 | 381,208 | 62,787 |
Wakayama | 113.0 | 228.5 | 30.41 | 8.869 | 39.279 | 347,602 | 38,814 |
Tottori | 114.3 | 248.4 | 26.632 | 6.396 | 33.028 | 288,959 | 25,749 |
Shimane | 110.0 | 237.7 | 29.711 | 9.119 | 38.83 | 353,000 | 38,363 |
Okayama | 113.1 | 232.6 | 31.392 | 10.247 | 41.639 | 368,161 | 44,054 |
Hiroshima | 115.5 | 208.1 | 30.495 | 12.827 | 43.322 | 375,082 | 61,639 |
Yamaguchi | 111.3 | 268.0 | 31.073 | 8.361 | 39.434 | 354,304 | 31,198 |
Tokushima | 112.7 | 228.2 | 29.262 | 9.046 | 38.308 | 339,911 | 39,641 |
Kagawa | 112.1 | 241.8 | 29.159 | 8.085 | 37.244 | 332,239 | 33,437 |
Ehime | 110.7 | 234.5 | 29.664 | 10.091 | 39.755 | 359,124 | 43,032 |
Kochi | 107.8 | 233.1 | 28.838 | 9.623 | 38.461 | 356,781 | 41,283 |
Fukuoka | 114.1 | 251.9 | 31.412 | 11.986 | 43.398 | 380,351 | 47,582 |
Saga | 114.4 | 266.0 | 29.443 | 7.681 | 37.124 | 324,510 | 28,876 |
Nagasaki | 108.4 | 236.6 | 29.516 | 8.912 | 38.428 | 354,502 | 37,667 |
Kumamoto | 108.8 | 260.2 | 31.036 | 9.307 | 40.343 | 370,800 | 35,769 |
Oita | 110.4 | 260.3 | 31.261 | 9.203 | 40.464 | 366,522 | 35,355 |
Miyazaki | 108.2 | 297.2 | 28.95 | 8.787 | 37.737 | 348,771 | 29,566 |
Kagoshima | 105.3 | 284.7 | 27.697 | 8.007 | 35.704 | 339,069 | 28,124 |
Okinawa | 107.5 | 218.6 | 30.967 | 15.494 | 46.461 | 432,195 | 70,878 |
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Data Source: Japan Housing Finance Agency, August 2021 Report (in Japanese)
Lead image: Flooded rice fields in Hida mountains valley near Nanto, Japan, iStock 1227370053