The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced on March 26th that the 2024 land price survey has been released.
The survey, which covered 26,000 locations nationwide and examined prices as of January 1st of this year, revealed that land prices for all land usage categories, residential areas, and commercial areas have risen for the third consecutive year nationwide.
Key Takeaways:
Double digit increases in certain addresses in Hokkaido and Kumamoto.
Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka see consistent increases; rate expansion noted across categories.
Regional areas experience third consecutive year of increases; rate expands for commercial areas.
Amid a gradual economic recovery, both major metropolitan areas and regional areas continued to see price increases. The land price fluctuation rate (national average) as of January 1st rose by 2.3% for all usage categories (compared to a 1.6% increase the previous year), 2.0% for residential areas (compared to a 1.4% increase), and 3.1% for commercial areas (compared to a 1.8% increase).

What is the MLIT’s annual Japan land survey?
The survey serves as an objective reference for land transactions and asset evaluation by the general public. It represents the per square meter price at specific points nationwide as of January 1st each year, with approximately 26,000 points surveyed annually.
The price is determined as if there were no buildings on the land and disregards any usage restrictions, representing the value of undeveloped land. The prices are typically announced around late March annually.
Additionally, the land survey is utilized as a standard for determining prices when acquiring land for public use.
Major metro areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya
Regarding the three major metropolitan areas, the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) area saw increases of 4.0% for all land usage categories (compared to a 2.4% increase), 3.4% for residential areas (compared to a 2.1% increase), and 5.6% for commercial areas (compared to a 3.0% increase).
The Nagoya area experienced increases of 3.3% for all usage categories (compared to a 2.6% increase), 2.8% for residential areas (compared to a 2.3% increase), and 4.3% for commercial areas (compared to a 3.4% increase), all showing rises for the third consecutive year.
The Osaka area saw increases of 2.4% for all usage categories (compared to a 1.2% increase), 1.5% for residential areas (compared to a 0.7% increase), and 5.1% for commercial areas (compared to a 2.3% increase), with all usage categories and residential areas rising for three consecutive years, and commercial areas rising for two consecutive years, with expansion in the rate of increase present in each case.
Japan’s regional cities: Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka
In the four major cities outside Japan’s major metro areas (Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Fukuoka), there were increases for all land usage categories, residential areas, and commercial areas for the 11th consecutive year.
By prefecture, 29 prefectures saw a positive fluctuation rate for both residential and commercial areas (24 prefectures for residential areas and 23 prefectures for commercial areas).
The top gainers compared to January 1st of 2023 were in Hokkaido's Furano City, Kitanominecho for residential areas with a 27.9% increase and in Kumamoto Prefecture's Kikuchi District, Otsu for commercial areas with a 33.2% increase.
Furano's increase is tied with Japan's inbound tourism recovery but Kumamoto might seem random until you remember that TSMC opened a semiconductor chip factory in February of 2024 that has increased wages and employment in the area.
Source:
R.E. Port News (Japanese only)