In 2018, reported transactions of second-hand apartments across greater Tokyo reached the highest record in history. There were 37,601 sales reported for the year, up 1.2% from 2017. 

The average apartment price and price per square meter both increased for the sixth consecutive year. The average price per square meter reached 520,000 Yen, up 2.7% from 2017. Prices have now increased by 35.4% over the past six years. 

The average apartment size was 64.51 sqm (694 sq.ft) and the average building age was 21.12 years. Back in 2008, the average building age was 16.51 years. Not only are buyers paying more for an apartment, they are paying more for an older apartment.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards, a total of 15,609 second-hand apartments were sold, down 0.2% from 2017. The average price per square meter was 768,200 Yen, up 3.7% from 2017. The average apartment size was 58.60 sqm (631 sq.ft).

High-end sales

This did not come as a surprise to us since we have noticed significant movement in the higher end of the market, but annual sales of second-hand apartments over 70 million Yen increased by 9.6% from 2017. Many sales go un-reported so this figure is likely much larger. In 2014, sales in this price range represented 3.2% of all transactions. In 2018, this share had almost doubled to 6.2% of all transactions. 

Days to sell

In 2018 it took an average of 79.4 days for a second-hand apartment to sell. This is 4.7 days longer than in 2017. Second-hand detached homes took an average of 96.2 days to sell, 5.8 days longer than in 2017. Brand-new homes took 75.1 days to sell.

Source: REINS, Japan Property Central

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