Kansai new apartment prices in April hit levels not seen since the bubble era

The average sales price of a newly constructed apartment in Japan’s Kansai region hit ¥53,560,000 ($492,400) last month, the highest per unit sales price recorded since May 1992, when the average sales price reached ¥53,580,000 (after having fallen from a bubble era high of ¥82,400,000 reached in October 1991).

This was the key takeaway from the Real State Economic Institute (REEI)’s April new condominium market trends report for the Kansai region. The REEI’s report covers the city and prefecture of Osaka, and the prefectures of Hyogo (where Kobe is located), Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, and Wakayama.

Here are the other main highlights from the April data:

  • The main driver of the big jump in unit sales prices was that almost 40% of units sold last April were compact city-center units with a small footprint; and usually purchased for investment purposes.
  • The average sales price for a newly built condominium sold in the city of Osaka jumped 152.0% in April, to ¥61,740,000 ($568,000).
  • The average sales price per square meter for the Kansai region also jumped substantially, up 22.0%, to ¥775,000 per sqm.
  • The contract rate for April was 62.0%, which was a 15.9 point year-on-year drop and 12.8 points down versus March. The contract rate is the number of units contracted for sale divided by the number of units offered for sale. A contract rate above 70% is said to indicate strong buyer interest relative to supply. The April contract rate was the lowest since since January (when it was 61.2%).

Average Sales Price of an Apartment in Kansai – By City & Prefecture

Here is the breakdown of average sales prices by area for April 2021 compared to March 2021 and year-on-year.

Apr 2021 –
Average Sales Price in JPY
Mar 2021 –
Average Sales Price in JPY
Apr 2021 v. Mar 2021
MoM % Change
Apr 2020 –
Average Sales Price in JPY
Apr 2021 v. Apr 2020
YoY % Change
Osaka City 61,740,000 42,320,000 45.9% 24,500,000 152.0%
Osaka Prefecture 48,050,000 53,190,000 -9.7% 44,530,000 7.9%
Kobe 54,290,000 20,040,000 170.9% 67,270,000 -19.3%
Hyogo Prefecture 51,550,000 51,160,000 0.8% 39,930,000 29.1%
Kyoto City 58,090,000 58,440,000 -0.6% 63,350,000 -8.3%
Kyoto Prefecture 59,070,000 40,320,000 46.5% N/A N/A
Nara Prefecture 45,780,000 32,020,000 43.0% 40,670,000 12.6%
Shiga Prefecture 37,880,000 39,110,000 -3.1% 36,690,000 3.2%
Wakayama Prefecture 36,100,000 39,300,000 -8.1% 37,600,000 -4.0%
Kansai Region 53,560,000 42,260,000 26.7% 34,340,000 56.0%

Average sales prices by square meter

Apr 2021 – Average Sales Price
Per SQM in JPY
Mar 2021 – Average Sales Price
Per SQM in JPY
Apr 2021 v. Mar 2021 — % Change Apr 2020 – Average Sales Price
Per SQM in JPY
Apr 2021 v. Apr 2020 — % Change
Osaka City 926,000 872,000 6.2% 731,000 26.7%
Osaka Prefecture 714,000 660,000 40.3% 604,000 18.2%
Kobe 776,000 702,000 1.7% 855,000 -9.2%
Hyogo Prefecture 711,000 633,000 22.6% 566,000 25.6%
Kyoto City 854,000 734,000 -3.1% 863,000 -1.0%
Kyoto Prefecture 762,000 557,000 53.3% N/A N/A
Nara Prefecture 601,000 637,000 19.6% 531,000 13.2%
Shiga Prefecture 577,000 610,000 -1.5% 498,000 15.9%
Wakayama Prefecture 505,000 481,000 20.0% 495,000 2.0%
Kansai Region 775,000 757,000 -30.9% 634,000 22.2%

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Sources:

REEI, April 2021 Kansai New Condominium Market Trends Report (PDF in Japanese)

REEI, April  2020 Kansai New Condominium Market Trends Report (PDF in Japanese)

Lead photo: Abeno district, Osaka via iStock-635865112


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