The latest data released by the land ministry indicates that land prices across Japan have seen a notable surge, with a 2.3% average increase nationwide. This rise signifies a consistent upward trend for the third year in a row and represents the most substantial growth observed since the financial downturn of 2008. The survey, encompassing roughly 26,000 residential, commercial, and other land plots as of January 1, reported that 65% of the covered areas displayed price hikes compared to the previous year, signaling a widespread improvement in the real estate market.
Particularly remarkable is the fact that around 60% of the locations surveyed saw land prices surpassing the levels seen before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This suggests a robust recovery in the real estate sector, with a ministry official emphasizing that the overall market has now essentially returned to pre-pandemic conditions. Furthermore, significant spikes in land prices were observed in the major metropolitan areas surrounding Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, averaging a 2.8% increase. The heightened demand for property in these regions, coupled with factors like booming apartment prices in Tokyo, has led to prospective homeowners seeking more affordable options in neighboring prefectures, such as Nagareyama and Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture, where residential land prices surged by over 10%.
Moreover, the rise in land prices has not been limited to the metropolitan areas, as cities like Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka also recorded an average increase of 7%, attributed partly to ongoing large-scale redevelopment projects. In certain regions like Chitose, Hokkaido, and Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, the construction of new semiconductor plants has been a key driver behind the substantial surge in residential land prices, with some sites witnessing price hikes of nearly 20%. While urban centers like Tokyo’s 23 wards have seen all survey points marking increases of 5% or more due to robust demand for office and retail spaces, rural areas grappling with depopulation continue to face declining land prices in both residential and commercial districts.