Tokyo [Japan], July 28: The average price of a new condominium in central Tokyo in the first half of 2024 dropped 16.3 percent from a year earlier to 108.6 million yen (about 690,000 U.S. dollars), according to figures released by Japan's Real Estate Economic Institute.
The average unit price for the Japanese capital's 23 wards slid from the record high of 129.6 million yen marked in the same period of 2023 while exceeding 100 million yen for the second year in a row, the institute said.
Affected by the decline in central Tokyo, the average price for the broader metropolitan area covering the whole of the capital and three surrounding prefectures, Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, also fell 13.5 percent to 76.8 million yen, marking the first decrease in three years.
The number of new condominiums put up for sale in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures fell 13.7 percent to 9,066 units in the first six months of 2024, falling below 10,000 for the first time in four years for the January-June period, while the number for Tokyo's 23 wards declined 32.3 percent to 3,319 units, the institute said.
The declines are largely blamed on increased building cost amid a labor shortage.
Source: Xinhua