The average price of land in Japan rose for the second straight year in 2022, with the rate of growth picking up, as demand for both residential and commercial use recovered following a fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Wednesday.
Land prices in all categories nationwide rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier as of Jan. 1, 2023, compared with a 0.6 percent increase in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Prices for residential-use land in regional areas, excluding in the big cities of Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, marked the first rise in 28 years, increasing 0.4 percent from a year earlier.
But 27.1 percent of surveyed locations registered falls from the year before, dragged down by a slow recovery in tourist spots.
Overall, prices of some half of surveyed spots, including those that marked increases, have not returned to levels before the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country.
On the back of brisk online shopping sales, prices of land used for logistic facilities and other industrial purposes increased for the seventh year in a row, according to the annual government survey covering some 26,000 locations.
The prices of residential land rose 1.4 percent on average due to solid housing demand amid low interest rates on housing loans and subsidies from municipal governments for purchasing houses.
A total of 24 out of Japan's 47 prefectures saw residential land prices increase, up by four from the year before.
By region, the three largest metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya saw residential land prices rise 1.7 percent, while those in regional areas including Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka advanced 1.2 percent.
Prices of commercial land increased 1.8 percent, with 23 prefectures seeing rises, up from 15 prefectures the year before, on the back of strong demand for shops and offices. In the three largest metropolitan areas, prices climbed 2.9 percent, while the rest of the country saw a 1.0 percent increase.
Takeshi Ide, a senior researcher at real estate research firm Tokyo Kantei Co., said the data suggests an overall recovery in land prices after the downtrend caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ide said prices of residential areas have risen as many young or single people who were forced to spend more time at home during the pandemic came to place more emphasis on the convenience and functionality of their home spaces.
"Tourist spots, meanwhile, are at a stage where foreign visitors are gradually coming back, and the recovery is not so strong in regional areas. Visitors are especially staying away from areas with poor accessibility to airports," Ide said.
By municipality, Kitahiroshima in Hokkaido ranked first in price rises for both residential and commercial land, recording increases of 30.0 percent and 28.4 percent, respectively, due partly to expectations the impact of a new baseball stadium that opened in March 2023.
By spot, the main store of Yamano Music Co. in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district recorded the highest land price among surveyed locations across Japan at 53.8 million yen ($407,000) per square meter.
