Tokyo Used Condo Price Hits 128 Million Yen Despite Rate Hike
- Tokyo's 23 wards saw used condos average about 128 million yen (per 70 sqm) last month, up ~27% YoY.
- Prices kept rising even after the BOJ raised rates this month.
- Rents are climbing too, squeezing both buyers and renters.
- High construction costs and limited new supply push demand into the resale market.
- Taiwanese investors must recompute real yields as both prices and rents stay high.
Used condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards averaged about 128 million yen per 70 square meters last month, up roughly 27% year on year. What makes this worth a pause is the timing: it comes right after the BOJ raised rates, which should cool buying and cap prices, yet the market keeps climbing.
Several structural forces are at work. Building materials and labor have surged, slowing new supply and pushing demand into the resale market. Central Tokyo land is scarce. And a weak yen makes Tokyo property look cheap to foreign buyers. Even with a hike, Japan's absolute rates remain far below the West, so mortgage burdens rise only modestly, while a 'inflation is here, hold real assets' mindset adds fuel.
Rents are rising in tandem: priced out of buying, more people rent, lifting rents. For owners that supports income, but at a 128-million-yen entry price the real net yield can actually thin out. The honest move for Taiwanese investors is to compute net yield after fees, repairs, taxes and FX, rather than trust the slogan that Tokyo only goes up. Watch the next BOJ hike, new-supply data, and foreign buying flows.