The average unit price of a new condominium in Tokyo and its surrounding areas rose 9.5 percent in fiscal 2023 from the previous year to 75.66 million yen ($490,000), hitting a record for the third consecutive year, a research institute said Thursday.
Sales of ultrahigh-value properties in central Tokyo and soaring materials and construction costs helped boost the average price, along with intensified competition with commercial complexes and hotels to build in convenient locations, such as near major railway stations.
In Tokyo's 23 central wards, the average price surpassed 100 million yen for the first time, rising 5.7 percent from fiscal 2022 to 104.6 million yen, according to the Real Estate Economic Institute.
The scarcity of units has driven up prices in urban cores such as Minato and Chiyoda wards to hundreds of millions of yen, prompting families with children to seek housing options outside of the capital.
Among the three prefectures surrounding Tokyo, unit prices in Kanagawa were up 12.6 percent to 61.45 million yen. They fell 4.8 percent to 48.90 million yen in Saitama and increased 11.9 percent to 50.67 million yen in Chiba.
The number of new condominiums listed for sale in the region fell to the lowest level in around 50 years, down 6.4 percent from fiscal 2022 to 26,798 units, as businesses focused on locations that are popular despite their high prices.
Prices are expected to remain high for the time being, with sales of units in central Tokyo geared toward dual-income households and wealthy individuals performing well.
"Along with rising construction costs, there are no reasons for prices to fall," an institute official said.
The uptrend is also spreading into regional cities, with land prices increasing nationwide.
In March, however, the average price of a unit was down 46.9 percent from a year before at 76.23 million yen, seen as a recoiling from strong sales of luxury properties in March 2022.
