THE JAPAN TIMES


 

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of new condominiums put up for sale in the greater Tokyo area in fiscal 2016 fell 4.4 percent from the previous year to 36,450 units, the lowest level since fiscal 1992, the Real Estate Economic Institute said Monday.

The third straight year of drop came as developers limited new condo supplies due to sluggish sales reflecting high prices in the area, the private think tank said.

On average, contracts were concluded within the first month of sales for 68.5 percent of the total supply in the year to March, down 4.2 percentage points.

The first-month contract rate slipped through the boom-or-bust dividing line of 70 percent for the first time since fiscal 2008, when U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed and triggered a global financial crisis.

The average unit price dropped 1.4 percent to ¥55.41 million, declining for the first time in five years. The price fall reflected an abating of the rise in construction costs from around autumn last year and the trend of smaller units being put to the market.

An official from the institute said the size of the fall will likely remain limited since the labor shortage in the construction industry has not been resolved yet.

The data covered Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama.

In the Kinki region, comprising the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, Shiga and Wakayama, new condo supply fell 0.1 percent to 18,359 units in fiscal 2016, also hitting a 24-year low.

The cities of Osaka and Kyoto saw a significant decrease in the number of new condo supplies.

In March alone, the number of supplies in the greater Tokyo area increased 26.6 percent from a year before to 3,408 units, rising for the second straight month. By contrast, the number decreased 26.5 percent to 1,575 units in Kinki, marking a second consecutive drop.