Market Trends

What is the average sales price of a Tokyo apartment? — 2019 Mid-Year Update

August 31, 2019

The average sales price of a new apartment sold in the greater Tokyo region, as of July 2019 was ¥56,760,000 (about $533,500). The average price per square meter was ¥860,000 (about $8,091), or about $7,790 per square foot. The greater Tokyo region consists of the Tokyo 23 Wards, western Tokyo suburbs, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures.

This is recording to a recent report by the Real Estate Economic Institute, a Tokyo-based think tank.

The key takeaway from July actual sales prices is that the average unit sales price and average per-sqm price represent both a year-on-year decrease (compared to July 2019) and a previous period (June 2019) decrease.

How do July sale prices compare to sales prices in the first part of 2019 and last year?

The January to April 2019 average sales price for a new apartment in the Greater Tokyo region was ¥60,980,000 ($557,000). July average sales prices represent a 6.92% decrease compared to the first part of 2019.

July average sales prices were also down 8.3% year-on-year. Per-sqm sales prices in July were down 6.2% year-on-year.

What about average prices in the Tokyo 23 Wards and by region?

Good question. The ¥56,760,000 number mentioned above is a weighted average that reflects the fact that averages sales prices are significantly higher in the Tokyo 23 Wards than elsewhere in the greater Tokyo region. Please see the breakdown by region below. Basically, average sales prices saw a YoY decrease across the the board.

Average Sales Price of an Apartment in Greater Tokyo – By Area – (Versus YoY)

Tokyo 23 Wards: ¥65,400,000 (-10.0% YoY)
Tokyo western suburbs: ¥52,070,000 (- 1.0% YoY)
Kanagawa Prefecture: ¥52,900,00 (-5.9% YoY)
Saitama Prefecture: ¥46,640,000 (-6.5% YoY)
Chiba Prefecture: ¥41,410,000 (-5.2% YoY)

Average Sales Price Per Sqm of an Apartment in Greater Tokyo – By Area – (Versus YoY)

Tokyo 23 Wards: ¥1,067,000 per sqm (-6.9% YoY)
Tokyo western suburbs: ¥746,000 per sqm (+0.4% YoY)
Kanagawa Prefecture: ¥777,000 per sqm (-0.1% YoY)
Saitama Prefecture: ¥644,000 per sqm (-11.4% YoY)
Chiba Prefecture: ¥573,000 (-4.2% YoY)

With respect average sales prices per sqm, only the Tokyo western suburbs had a slight uptick.

What was new inventory like in July?

In July, 1,932 newly constructed apartments (manshon) were released for sales in the greater Tokyo area. This was a drop of 35.3% compared to July 2018 and a drop of 14.5% compared to June.

While it is true that developers carefully control the release of new units available for sale to the public, it’s also important to note that the ability of developers to bring new buildings online has been affected by: rising material costs, labor shortages in the construction industry, and tight competition with hotel developers for suitable land, as inbound tourism has been booming.

In July total stock of units for sale stood at 7,115, a decrease of 323 units compared to June but an increase compared to July 2018 (6,262 units).

What was the average size of a new apartment sold in July?

The average exclusive-use area of a new apartment sold in the greater Tokyo area was 66.01-sqm (about 710-sqft).

Was July considered a buyers market?

The contract rate is the number of sales contracts divided by the number of units released for sale for the period. A contract rate of 70% is considered a healthy buyers market. The “first month’s” contract rate is the contract rate for properties sold in the first month they were released for sale. Below is the “first month’s” contract for July for the greater Tokyo region and broken down by area:

Greater Tokyo region: 67.9% (+0.1% YoY, +2.0% versus June)
Tokyo 23 Wards: 66.4%
Tokyo western suburbs: 61.0%
Kanagawa Prefecture: 64.3%
Saitama Prefecture: 76.1%
Chiba Prefecture: 76.8%

Saitama and Chiba have consistently been strong buyers’ markets, as many families cannot afford to buy in central Tokyo and more expensive parts of Kanagawa, including Yokohama.

Real Estate Japan

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