Sales of Pre-Owned Homes in Greater Tokyo Hit Record High

In July, there were 1,248 single-family homes sold in greater Tokyo, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, and the highest single-month sales number ever recorded by the Real Estate Information Network System (REINS) for eastern Japan.

July was also the 13th consecutive month of month-on-month increases in the number of contracted sales, with the average sales price hitting ¥49,500,000 ($451,000 USD), a year-on-year increase of 12.2%. This means the average sales price for resale single-family homes has increased year-on-year for nine consecutive months. The average construction age of a house sold in July was 21.24 years and the average size in square meters was 104.51m²).

In a previous post, we took an in-depth look at what is driving record re-sale home sales in Tokyo and around the country. In summary, the underlying causes are Japan’s ultra-low interest rate environment, record high prices in the new condominium market (driven in part by a severe labor and raw materials shortage in the construction industry), pent-up buyer demand, and people looking to move to more spacious homes where they can work-from-home, as the pandemic continues to force companies to change to new working styles.

By city and prefecture

Greater Tokyo consists of the 23 Wards of Tokyo, the western Tokyo suburban cities, and the prefectures of Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa. Here is the breakdown of July sales by prefecture and city.

Pre-Owned Single Family Homes Average Sales Prices – July 2021 Source: REINS
Region July 2021 Average Sales Price JPY Approx Sales Price in USD
@ 1USD to 110JPY
v. July 2020
% Change
v. June 2021
% Change
Tokyo 82,140,000 746,727 10.5% 0.2%
Tokyo 23 Wards 89,720,000 815,636 9.7% -1.3%
Tokyo Western Suburbs 46,240,000 420,364 5.2% 7.6%
Saitama Prefecture 34,770,000 316,091 8.4% -0.5%
Chiba Prefecture 31,330,000 284,818 13.3% -4.8%
Kanagawa Prefecture 48,860,000 444,182 6.2% 5.3%
Yokohama and Kawasaki 54,930,000 499,364 7.0% 8.2%
Kanagawa Other 32,750,000 297,727 1.0% -6.6%

Key takeaways by region:

  • Contracted sales in July increased in all regions, except Chiba prefecture.
  • As of July, Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Saitama prefecture have seen 12 consecutive months of increases in contracted sales.
  • The Tokyo 23 Wards and Kanagawa prefecture have had ten months of consecutive months of year-on-year growth in sales.
  • All regions and cities chalked up year-on-year growth in average sales prices.
  • Saitama has had eight months of consecutive growth in sales prices.
  • The Tokyo 23 Wards have had eight months of consecutive year-on-year growth in sales prices.

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Lead photo: Shinjuku via iStock 1329166825 Credit:dk1234


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