Japan MLIT releases first ever data on short term resales of Tokyo new condos
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has released its first detailed analysis of short-term resales and overseas-address purchases of newly built condominiums, providing new data on trading activity in Tokyo’s increasingly expensive residential market.
For newly built condos in Tokyo’s 23 wards with ownership registrations recorded between January and June 2024, 9.3% were resold within one year. The rate rose to 12.2% in Tokyo’s six central wards of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya.
Across Tokyo prefecture, the rate was 8.5%.
Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash
Short-term resales increase in central Tokyo
MLIT defines a short-term resale as a transaction in which a newly built condominium is transferred to another owner within one year of its initial ownership registration.
The ministry analyzed property-registration data covering approximately 550,000 newly built condominium units in Japan’s three major metropolitan areas and four regional cities, with registrations dating from January 2018 through June 2025.
The latest figures show a notable increase in Tokyo. In the 23 wards, the short-term resale rate rose to 9.3% for units registered in the first half of 2024, from 5.7% in 2023. In the six central wards, the rate increased to 12.2% from 7.1%.
MLIT also found that short-term resales were more common among larger developments. For condominium buildings in the 23 wards with at least 100 qualifying registrations and units of 40 square meters or more, the short-term resale rate was 9.9% in the first half of 2024, compared with 3.3% for other developments.
The ministry cautioned that the figures can fluctuate substantially depending on the types and locations of projects delivered in a given year.
Non-resident purchases are a separate measure
MLIT also examined purchases where the registered owner’s address was outside Japan.
In the first half of 2025, non-resident owners accounted for 3.5% of new-condo acquisitions in Tokyo’s 23 wards, up from 1.6% in 2024.
In the six central wards, the share was 7.5%, compared with 3.2% in 2024. Across Tokyo prefecture, it was 3.0%.
These figures should not be interpreted as the share of properties purchased by foreign nationals.
MLIT’s analysis is based on the address recorded in the property registry, meaning it identifies whether an owner has a domestic or overseas registered address rather than the owner’s nationality.
The non-resident figures are also separate from the 12.2% short-term resale rate in the six central wards.
MLIT additionally said its analysis did not identify a particular tendency for overseas-address owners to be actively buying or short-term reselling units priced at ¥200 million or more in the six central wards.
Why it matters
The findings give policymakers and market participants a clearer picture of how frequently newly built condominiums are changing hands soon after purchase, particularly in central Tokyo.
They also arrive as new-condominium prices remain historically high. According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the average price of a newly built condominium released for sale in Tokyo’s 23 wards in October 2025 was ¥153.13 million, up 18.3% from a year earlier.
MLIT has said it considers speculative transactions not based on genuine housing demand undesirable and is working with real estate industry groups on measures intended to discourage such activity.
However, the ministry has also cautioned against drawing a direct line between short-term resales and rising prices. Condominium prices are affected by multiple supply- and demand-side factors, and MLIT said the present study cannot isolate the effect of short-term trading on price growth.
For international market participants, that distinction is important: the new data provides evidence that short-term trading has increased in parts of Tokyo, but it does not by itself establish who is driving price increases or how much speculative activity is responsible.
Further Reading:
MLIT: Survey results on transactions in newly built condominiums using property registration data (Japanese only)
