A: Hey there! Any news on the property market lately?
B: Not really, what's up?

A: Well, did you know that new condo prices in Tokyo and nearby prefectures hit a new record high this year?
B: No way, how much are we talking here?

A: About 89.58 million yen, which is over 600,000 dollars! It's up by about 17% compared to last year and even higher than in 2019 before the pandemic.
B: Whoa, that's expensive! What caused such a rise?

A: They say it's due to increased land and construction costs. Tokyo saw a 20% increase, while other areas like Kanagawa and Saitama also experienced significant rises. But oddly, Chiba saw a slight drop in prices.
B: That's crazy! I wonder who's buying these expensive condos?

A: Seems like wealthy Japanese people and foreigners are snapping them up. They say the high prices might continue due to ongoing rising costs.
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The average price of new condominiums put on sale from January to June in the greater Tokyo area hit a new high due to rising costs.



The Real Estate Economic Institute says the average price of the units in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures stood at 89.58 million yen, or slightly over 600,000 dollars.



That's up 16.7 percent in yen terms from the same period last year. It marks a new high for the first half of a year, topping the previous record in 2023.



The institute also says the figure was 46 percent higher than in the same period of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.



It says higher land and construction costs pushed up the prices.



Tokyo's 23 wards saw a rise of 20.4 percent from a year earlier, and the rest of the capital 19.8 percent. The average was up 12.4 percent in Kanagawa, and 26.9 percent in Saitama. All are record highs.



But the average price fell 1.6 percent in Chiba.



The institute says it appears many wealthy people in Japan and abroad are buying new condos in the area. It says prices are expected to remain high amid rising costs.