Residential land costs surge in regional Japan, breaking a 31-year trend

Posted on September 22, 2023   |  

Residential land prices in regional Japan saw a 0.1% year-on-year increase as of July 1, marking the end of a 31-year declining trend. This shift was driven by robust housing demand and low interest rates.

Similarly, commercial land prices in regional areas grew by 0.5%, representing the 1st upturn in 4 years. 

Regions beyond Japan's major cities also reported their first increase in 32 years.

On a national scale, the average land prices in Japan grew by 1.0%, marking the 2nd consecutive annual increase. 

However, more than half of the surveyed locations have yet to reach pre-pandemic price levels, indicating ongoing recovery.

Japan's housing market has benefited from foreign investments and consistently low borrowing costs.

Notably, residential land prices in the 4 main regional cities grew by 7.5%, surpassing the previous year's growth of 6.6%. Outside these cities, the decline slowed from 0.5% to 0.2%.

In the latest survey, 18 out of 47 prefectures reported increasing residential land prices, compared to 14 in the previous year.