Japan real estate market — prices, rental yield and trend

• Average price: $5,397 / m²
• Gross rental yield: 2.48%
• 12-month price change (USD): 3.1%
• Net rental yield: 2.31%
• Transaction cost: 10.9%
• Bubble-risk band: elevated
• Price basis: national average

Residential property in Japan averages $5,397 per square metre, +3.1% in dollar terms over the last twelve months. That makes it the 65th most expensive of the 264 markets in the set.

What a buyer pays in Japan

The $5,397 figure is a national average across all residential property types, which flattens a wide spread — the capital typically runs far above it and small towns far below. Buying costs — transfer tax or stamp duty, notary, registration and agency — come to about 10.9% of the price here. On a 100 m² apartment at the average price that is roughly $58,827 on top of the $539,700 purchase price. That is above the 9.5% median across the set — the entry cost is part of the investment case here. Of that, the transfer tax alone is 4.5–6% depending on the buyer and the property; the rest is notary, registration and agency fees. Inside Japan we track 3 local markets separately: Tokyo at $11,800 (118.6% above the national figure) down to Kyoto at $2,215.

What it earns

A square metre lets for about $11.2 a month. Against a purchase price of $5,397 per square metre that is 2.5% gross, before tax. Both figures come from the same source and the same period, so you can check the arithmetic yourself. It ranks 300th of 311 markets by gross yield. Rental income is taxed at 2.8–20.4% — the rate is not a single number here. That is the difference between 2% and 2.4% net on the same property. The 2.3% net figure we publish uses 6.7%. On the way out there is a third tax: a non-resident seller pays 15.3–30.6% on the gain, depending on how long the property was held and who is selling.

How the tax works. A non-resident's rental income is declared and taxed at progressive rates with the basic deduction and no local inhabitant tax (Income Tax Act arts. 164(1)(ii) and 165), which gives about 3–11% across typical rent levels. The 20.42% withholding often quoted is not the final burden, and per the National Tax Agency it does not apply at all when an individual tenant rents the home for own or family use; it forms the upper end of the band only as a ceiling. From 2027 the tiered basic deduction is withdrawn, lifting the range slightly to about 4–11%. Source: nta.go.jp No. 12014.

Where the price sits against its own history

Prices are -12.1% over five years and -1.9% over ten in local terms. Today’s level is within 1.4% of the country’s own long-run trend, so the price is close to where its own history would put it. Glopra’s bubble-risk score for Japan is 67 out of 100 — elevated risk. Of the 65 markets scored, 20 read higher. It combines the deviation from trend, price-to-income and the pace of recent growth — a warning light, not a forecast.

Japan house price index, 2016–2025 (2016 = 100)

Rebased to 100 in 2016, the index stands at 135 in 2025. The series is in local currency, and the twelve-month numbers above show how much of that a dollar buyer actually keeps.

Who can buy in Japan

Freehold, including the land. That is the rule a foreign buyer meets first, not legal advice — check the current position locally before you commit.

How this figure is built

The price figure for Japan is built from asking prices from listings. It was last refreshed on 2026-10-29. We rate our confidence in this market’s data low — treat the figures as indicative and check them before acting. We recompute every market the same way; a figure that fails our checks is suppressed, not guessed.

Sources: jhf.go.jp · mlit.go.jp · globalpropertyguide.com. Snapshot: 2026-10-29.