Average Residential Land Price

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced the average land price as of July 1, 2009. In recent years, land prices seem to have ceased falling, but in 2009, due to the Lehman shock, land prices dropped drastically.

From the MLIT's "Land Price Trends based on the 2009 Prefectural Land Price Survey":

According to Land Price Public Notice as of July 1, 2009, both residential and commercial land prices in Japan declined on a national average basis, during the year from July 2008 due to economic deterioration.

In particular, in the three largest metropolitan regions, the average price of land for all purposes, which had posted a rise for three consecutive years, declined this time. Land prices declined in practically all areas including central parts which showed increase in the previous survey. The price of land for practically all purposes including residential and commercial, posted a greater decline than in non-metropolitan regions.

In non-metropolitan regions, the average price of land for all purposes which had posted a slowing year-on-year decline for four consecutive years, also posted a greater decline this time. There was a decline in practically all areas including regional urban centers, and land prices for all land use, including residential and commercial land, showed sharper decline compared to the preceding year.

Commercial land, with the increase in the rate of vacancy in office buildings, showed a sharper drop compared to residential land in general. In particular, commercial land in the three largest metropolitan regions and the regional urban centers that posted a sharp rise in the preceding year, saw a sharp decline in land prices this year.

There were some areas, though slight, which showed an increase or sideways movement in land prices, due to improvement in convenience and profitability as a result of the efforts in urban development and improvement, etc. The trend in land prices for each half-year of areas whose prices are available in public notices as well, shows areas indicating slight slowing of decline backed by hopes for economic improvement and development in inventory and price adjustments.

The price of residential land is high in metropolitan regions such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, with Tokyo standing out in particular. In non-metropolitan areas, the price of land is lower in eastern Japan, with prefectures in the Tohoku area and Hokkaido ranked in the bottom 5.