Japan real estate market — prices, rental yield and trend
- Average price: $3,307 / m²
- 12-month price change (USD): 1.1%
- Transaction cost: 10.9%
- Bubble-risk band: elevated
- Price basis: national average
Residential property in Japan averages $3,307 per square metre. In dollar terms the market has barely moved over the last twelve months (+1.1%). That makes it the 35th most expensive of the 83 markets in the set. In local currency the same twelve months read +8%; the 6.9-point gap is the exchange rate, not the housing market.
What a buyer pays in Japan
The $3,307 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 $36,048 on top of the $330,720 purchase price. That is close to the 10.2% median across the set. Inside Japan we also track Tokyo separately, where the average is $11,800 — 256.8% above the national figure.
What it earns
Japan publishes prices per home, not per square metre. The $3,307 per-square-metre level is our estimate: the average price per home divided by an average dwelling size of 71 m² (Japan Housing Finance Agency) — read it as a level for comparison, not as a published figure. We publish a price for Japan but no rental yield. No public rent figure exists for this market at the same geographic level and from the same source as the price, and we do not estimate one: a yield built from two unrelated sources would describe no real property.
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 From 2027 the tiered basic deduction is withdrawn, lifting the range slightly to about 4–11%.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 58 markets scored, 18 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)
| Year | Index |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 100 |
| 2017 | 102.5 |
| 2018 | 104.5 |
| 2019 | 106.2 |
| 2020 | 106.3 |
| 2021 | 112.6 |
| 2022 | 122.1 |
| 2023 | 125.8 |
| 2024 | 129.3 |
| 2025 | 135 |
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 recorded transaction prices. It was last refreshed on 2026-09-28. We rate our confidence in this market’s data medium: the series is usable, but thinner or less current than our best-covered markets. We recompute every market the same way; a figure that fails our checks is suppressed, not guessed.
Sources: JHF Flat 35 User Survey FY2025, nationwide tables (price side, STORED) · jhf.go.jp · mlit.go.jp · globalpropertyguide.com. Snapshot: 2026-09-28.
Latest Japan market analysis
- Japanese Housing Starts Reached 63,974 Units in August, Rising for a Fifth Month — 2026-09-30
- Japan's Construction Labour Shortage Widened to 1.3% in August While Material Prices Held Flat — 2026-09-27
- Tokyo Used Condominium Prices Fell in August for the First Time in 28 Months — 2026-09-24
- Tokyo New Condominium Prices Fell 9.1% per Square Metre in August as Supply Dropped 12.4% — 2026-09-20
- The Bank of Japan Raised Its Policy Rate to 1.25% on a 7-2 Vote — 2026-09-18
- Japanese Land Prices Rose a Fifth Year as Growth Narrowed Outside Tokyo and Osaka — 2026-09-17
- Foreign Buyers Accounted for 0.7% of Japan's Large-Scale Land Filings in Late 2025 — 2026-09-16
- Tokyo New Detached House Prices Hit a Post-2014 High in August — 2026-09-12
- Japan's Core Inflation Hit 1.8% in July, Pushing the Bank of Japan Toward 1.25% — 2026-08-23
- Greater Tokyo's Average New Condo Price Jumped 63.7% in July to a Record ¥164.93 Million — 2026-08-22
- Tokyo Used-Condo Sales Fell for a Fourth Month in July as Resale Prices Turn Negative — 2026-08-11
Related markets: Tokyo