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The Japan Housing Finance Agency published its October Flat 35 rates on October 1st, with the most common rate for 21- to 35-year loans at a loan-to-value ratio of 90% or below rising to 3.83%. That is the highest level under the current Flat 35 framework and extends a three-month rise in long-term fixed borrowing costs. Image generated by Patience Realty using AI services. All rights reserved. Flat 35 is a government-supported, fully fixed mortgage offered by private lender

Tokyo remains one of only two housing markets classified as facing high bubble risk in the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2026, released September 22nd, as home prices continue to outpace longer-term income growth despite higher interest rates in Japan. Tokyo recorded a bubble-risk score of 1.54, second only to Zurich at 1.69 among the 23 cities covered by the report. Its score was almost unchanged from a year earlier. UBS defines scores above 1.5 as indicating high bubb

The Bank of Japan’s latest rate increase is beginning to influence how some homebuyers think about timing. In this Japanese news report released September 23rd, families at a housing exhibition in Funabashi explain why they are considering buying sooner, while housing and mortgage specialists discuss what higher rates could mean for borrowing costs, property demand and inflation. What the video does and doesn't say The report shows that some buyers are accelerating decisions

Greater Tokyo's existing condominium market showed clearer signs of rebalancing in August, with REINS-reported contracts falling for a fifth consecutive month while inventory rose for a sixth according to new data released September 10th. The Real Estate Information Network for East Japan (REINS) recorded 3,180 reported contracts in August, down 10.5% year on year. Inventory rose 8.2% to 48,235 units, while new registrations increased 9.7% to 15,627. The combination is more i

The average advertised price of a newly built single-family home in the Tokyo 23 wards rose above JPY 130 million for the first time in August, even as the broader Greater Tokyo average slipped. The Greater Tokyo Area consists of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures. AI generated Tokyo new SFH rendering, not an actual property. All rights reserved. Tokyo Kantei put the Tokyo 23-ward average at JPY 133.41 million, up 4.1% from July and 33.4% from a year earlier. It

New September 2026 data from Asahi Kasei Homes provide an early indication that Japan's April 1 condominium-law reforms are being used to move some aging buildings toward formal regeneration decisions. At a September media briefing, the company said it expects 13 condominium regeneration resolutions in FY2026, roughly four times its average over the previous decade. Eight are expected to be rebuilding resolutions and five building-and-land sale resolutions. AI generated image

Tokyo existing condo sellers are cutting advertised asking prices more often, with new research showing a clear upward trend in price adjustments across the capital. September 4 data released jointly by Mansion Research Ltd. and Fukushima Research Institute show asking-price reductions rising through August in both Tokyo’s five central wards and the other 18 wards. Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash The increase has been particularly pronounced in the central five wards - C

Greater Tokyo existing-condominium prices reached another record in the first half of 2026, but the strongest growth is no longer concentrated in the most expensive parts of central Tokyo. Photo by Ryo Yoshitake on Unsplash Tokyo Kantei's standardized existing-condominium market-price measure for Greater Tokyo rose 9.1% from the previous half-year to JPY 5.042 million per tsubo, the first reading above JPY 5 million since the series began. The Tokyo 23 wards also remained str

MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation raised variable housing-loan rates by 0.25 percentage points on September 1, increasing financing costs for new homebuyers already facing high residential property prices. At MUFG, the preferential variable rate for qualifying new borrowers rose from 0.945% in August to 1.195% in September. Its posted variable rate is now 3.375%. SMBC also raised its posted variable rate from 3.125% to 3.375%. Its September preferential rate f

Japanese household financial assets grew more than three times as fast as annual income between 2019 and 2024, helping explain how some buyers have remained able to participate in a housing market increasingly detached from salary growth. Average annual household income reached JPY 5.937 million in 2024, up 6.3% from 2019, according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan's new 2024 National Survey of Family Income, Consumption and Wealth, released August 28th. Average financial as

Japan’s condominium management companies are increasingly proposing not only higher repair reserve contributions but also longer repair cycles, postponed work and reduced repair specifications as rising repair costs put pressure on building finances. A new survey by the Mansion Management Companies Association found that 272 of 290 responding management companies had proposed increasing repair reserve contributions at one or more properties they managed during the previous ye

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

Tokyo condominium prices were still rising in June, but a sharp deterioration in residential real estate agent sentiment suggests conditions in the capital’s for-sale housing market may be weakening before that slowdown becomes visible in headline transaction-price data. Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash AtHome’s Sales-Agent Diffusion Index (DI) for the Tokyo 23 wards fell to 44.4 in the April-June quarter from 51.3 in January-March. In Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato, Tokyo’s thr

High construction costs are strengthening the case for Japan to make better use of its existing homes. Industry groups are pushing for more support for renovation, energy-efficiency upgrades and a stronger resale market that could help sound older properties remain useful for longer. The argument is gaining weight even as shortages of construction materials and labor remain relatively contained. Japan’s construction costs are still elevated. MLIT’s construction cost deflator,

Greater Tokyo’s existing condominium inventory is becoming increasingly concentrated at the higher end of the market. Listings above ¥100 million are building up, while stock below that level is declining, according to an analysis by real estate data company Mansion Research. The company examined 481,019 publicly advertised existing condominium listings from January 2023 through July 2026. Key Points: Inventory is rising in the ¥100 million–¥500 million range. Listings below

The average price of a new condominium released for sale in the Greater Tokyo Area reached a record ¥164.93 million in July, but the sharp increase was heavily influenced by a concentration of high-priced launches in the central six wards of Tokyo. The GTA average was 63.7% higher than a year earlier, while the average price per square meter rose 50.8% to a record ¥2.369 million, according to data released by the Real Estate Economic Institute on August 2oth. Almost half of a

Resale condominium discounts in Greater Tokyo widened to more than 6% in 2025, even as average prices rose and homes sold faster. The figures point to a more selective market rather than a broad downturn. Homes priced close to buyer expectations continued to sell quickly. Listings launched at ambitious prices were more likely to require deeper reductions, especially after several months on the market. Key Points: Average discounts widened to 6.14% in the first half of 2025 an

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has issued new guidelines explaining how existing real estate law applies when homeowners sell their property and remain in it as tenants. Photo by Signature Pro on Unsplash The guidelines take effect on October 1, 2026. They are intended to address complaints involving unclear lease terms, high rents, costly cancellation provisions and aggressive approaches to homeowners, particularly older people. What is a res

The number of properties registered for sale through Japan’s Real Estate Information Network System, or REINS, continued to increase in June 2026, outpacing growth in reported sales. Key Points: The number of properties registered for sale on REINS increased 4.7% year on year in June, while reported sales rose 1.0%. The figures suggest that supply recorded on the agent-only network is building faster than transactions, although they do not by themselves establish a nationwide

Financial markets and real estate are often influenced by the same economic forces, although the connection is not always immediately visible. On July 14, Bloomberg’s The Asia Trade examined the weak yen, Japanese equities and the changing position of overseas investors, including how Japan’s stock market performance looks different when measured in US dollars. We summarize the main discussion points before applying the same currency lens to Greater Tokyo existing condominium