Get the latest intelligence direct to your inbox.

The Nikkei Shimbun reported on June 16th that the Bank of Japan’s latest interest rate hike is expected to affect households differently depending on their savings, borrowing and age profile. According to an estimate cited by the Nikkei from Naoki Hattori, Chief Japan Economist at Mizuho Research Institute, the 0.25-percentage-point rate hike will have a positive annual effect of ¥1 trillion for households overall, or roughly ¥20,000 per household. MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui

Orders for building renovation and renewal projects in Japan climbed 18.7% year-on-year to JPY 16.4 trillion in FY2025, according to MLIT. The increase was driven by strong demand for repairs, refurbishments, and energy-efficiency upgrades. Photo by Renovations Certified on Unsplash Residential renovation orders increased 18.7% to JPY 4.9 trillion, while non-residential projects rose 18.6% to JPY 11.5 trillion, highlighting broad-based growth across the sector. FY2025 Renovat

Greater Tokyo’s existing condominium market softened in May, with completed transactions falling for a second straight month and the average sold price per square meter declining year on year (YoY) for the first time in over six years, according to data released June 10th by REINS East Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) consists of the prefectures of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa. The headline figure refers to reported completed transactions, not advertised listing pric

The Nikkei Shimbun reported that the Bank of Japan is preparing to raise interest rates at its June 15th & 16th Monetary Policy Meeting. The BOJ is expected to lift its policy rate from 0.75 percent to 1.0 percent as it moves to guard against renewed upside risks to inflation. Photo by ayumi kubo on Unsplash. BOJ in foreground. If approved, it would be the BOJ’s first rate-hike since December 2025. It would also bring Japan’s policy rate to its highest level since 1995. At th

The Nikkei Shimbun reported on June 4th that mortgage repayment periods in Japan, long commonly treated as having a standard maximum of 35 years, are rapidly stretching longer. The shift is no longer limited to a small group of borrowers. In the Greater Tokyo Area, 32.6 percent of new condominium buyers in 2025 chose repayment periods of 36 years or more, according to Recruit data cited by the Nikkei. Photo by Sumudu Mohottige on Unsplash The trend reflects soaring housing pr

Real estate information service provider AtHome released registered price data on May 28th for newly built single-family homes listed on its proper in the Greater Tokyo Area in April 2026. The data covers asking prices per unit for properties registered and publicly listed for consumers on AtHome’s real estate information network. Prices were compiled across eight areas: Tokyo’s 23 wards, Tokyo non-23 wards, Yokohama and Kawasaki, the rest of Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama City

Japan’s major real estate brokerages posted broad gains in commission revenue in fiscal 2025, as rising property prices supported transaction value even as deal volumes softened at some firms, according to a new industry survey. Fudosan Ryutsu Kenkyujo, with the literal translation being Real Estate Distribution Research Institute, announced the results of its fiscal 2025 brokerage performance survey on May 22nd. FY2025 refers to the time period from April 1st, 2025 until Mar

On May 21st, the Nikkei Shimbun reported that new condominium supply in Greater Tokyo rose in April, even as the average price Year-on-Year (YoY) fell back below 100 million yen and first-month sales remained below a key market benchmark. According to data released the same day by the Real Estate Economic Institute, 1,163 new condominium units were released for sale in Greater Tokyo, covering Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. That was up 16 percent from a year earlier. The

Redevelopment projects across Japan are increasingly being delayed, scaled back or cancelled as soaring construction costs undermine project economics. What began as a regional “wait-and-see” trend is now spreading to prime central Tokyo, including redevelopment plans involving the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa and the Imperial Hotel Tokyo. With material costs expected to rise further amid worsening tensions in the Middle East, developers have few signs of relief. Regional

Greater Tokyo’s existing condominium market lost momentum in April, with transaction volume turning negative for the first time in 18 months while sold prices continued to rise. The figures come from the Real Estate Information Network for East Japan, or REINS, pronounced “rains,” which released its April 2026 market report on May 13th. REINS is the industry-only-accessed MLS system used to track brokered resale transactions across the region. REINS data is widely used as a r

On May 7th, Tokyo Kantei released their 2025 Condominium Price-Earnings Ratio (PER) report, showing that Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) condominium prices are rising faster than rents and further stretching the link between purchase prices and rental income. The clearest signal is in the resale market. The average PER for 10-year-old existing condominiums reached 31.78, surpassing the 30.46 recorded for newly built units. Photo by Maria Krasnova on Unsplash That means existing con

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on April 30th released its fiscal 2025 and March 2026 housing starts statistics. FY 2025 runs from April 2025 to March 2026. Total housing starts nationwide in FY2025 came to 711,171 units, down 12.9% year on year, marking a return to decline after increasing in the previous fiscal year. Total floor area fell 13.2% to 54.57 million square meters, also reversing the previous fiscal year’s growth. Breakdown by P

Global markets are entering a rare G7 Super Week - a tightly packed stretch in which multiple major central banks, including the Bank of Japan, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank, deliver policy decisions within days of each other. The BOJ is under particular pressure as it contends with a weak yen, rising inflation, and geopolitical risks linked to Iran. As other central banks signal their policy paths, questions remain

Japan’s consumer sentiment weakened sharply in March 2026, even as a separate survey of housing intenders shows that more than half believe now is a good time to buy property, highlighting a divergence between broad household confidence and purchase timing among active buyers. Photo by Nikolay Likomanov on Unsplash Released April 9th, the latest Consumer Confidence Survey from the Cabinet Office shows a clear deterioration in sentiment across all major indicators, while Recr

Supply of brand-new condominiums in the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) fell to its lowest level on record in fiscal 2025, according to data released April 20 by the Real Estate Economic Institute. A total of 21,659 new condominium units were launched across the region during the fiscal year (April 2025–March 2026), down 2.6% from the previous year. Supply declined for a fourth consecutive year, marking the lowest level since the survey began in 1973. By area, Tokyo’s 23 wards recor

According to a survey released April 16th by Recruit, 50% of people currently considering purchasing or building a home believe now is a good time to buy - the highest level recorded since 2020 and the fourth consecutive annual increase. The survey was conducted online by Recruit’s housing research arm, the SUUMO Research Center, between December 19, 2025 and January 7, 2026. It targeted men and women aged 20 to 69 who are actively considering purchasing, building, or renovat

Existing condominium transactions in the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) rose slightly in March, extending a 17-month streak of year-on-year (YoY) growth, according to data released April 10th by the Real Estate Information Network for East Japan (REINS). A total of 5,001 resale condominium units were transacted across the GTA during the month, inching up 0.2% from a year earlier. The GTA consists of the following prefectures: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama. Broken down by GTA p

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia on April 1, 2026, Stefan Angrick, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics, said resilient business sentiment and strong corporate profits continue to support Japan’s economic backdrop, but warned that weak domestic demand, uneven wage growth, and rising geopolitical tensions could complicate the path toward further interest rate hikes. Click the screen-grab above or click here to watch the segment on CNBC’s website. Key Topics Covered Japan’s

Premium existing condominiums in central Tokyo reached a record average price of ¥13.35 million per tsubo in the October–December 2025 quarter, according to a report released March 12th by Mitsui Fudosan Realty. The analysis is based on proprietary transactions and listing data compiled by the company’s private-client advisory service Mitsui no Real Plan, which provides real estate consulting to high-net-worth individuals. Photo by Takashi Miyazaki on Unsplash What Counts

Mizuho Securities Chief Economist Kobayashi Shunsuke explains why the Bank of Japan is expected to hold off on another interest rate hike for now, as moderating inflation and rising global tensions complicate the economic outlook. A March 13th NHK World News Biz Picks segment outlines the coming week which brings several major policy events in Japan and the United States, with markets watching closely for signals on the direction of monetary policy. NHK World Japan doesn’t al