Japan's Residential Land Prices Up for 1st time in 31 Yrs in 2022

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)--The average price of land in residential areas in Japan as of July 1 this year went up 0.1 pct from a year earlier, posting the first increase in 31 years, the land ministry said Tuesday.

Demand for such land was fueled by low interest rates and the Japanese government's housing acquisition support measures.

"Housing demand firstly rose in Japan's four major provincial cities of Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, as well as the Tokyo and Nagoya metropolitan areas, and then eventually spread to other parts of the country," a ministry official said.

Residential land prices rose in 14 of the country's 47 prefectures, up drastically from last year's seven. While such prices fell in 32 prefectures, many prefectures registered smaller decreases than last year.

Overall land prices in Japan increased 0.3 pct on average, up for the first time in three years, reflecting a recovery in residential and commercial land demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]