In more than half of Japan's regions, the price of new homes is over ten times the annual income.

In Japan, price increases for newly built residential buildings in regions other than Tokyo have also become clearly noticeable. Against the backdrop of rising construction costs and land prices, sale prices have increased, and the average prices in more than half of Japan’s 47 prefectures—24 prefectures—exceed 10 times the local annual income. Nationwide across Japan, newly built residential buildings are increasingly becoming unaffordable for ordinary salaried households.

Real estate research firm Tokyo KANTEI calculated the “price-to-income ratio” by dividing the average price of newly sold residential buildings in 2024 (converted to 70 square meters) by the local average annual income, based on statistics by prefecture. The nationwide average is 10.38, up from 10.09 in 2023, marking a rise that has continued for 2 years above 10 times.

A price-to-income ratio above 10 means it is difficult for families with only one earner to afford a new home. Takashi Shiozawa, director of MFS, which runs the housing-loan consultation service “MogeCheck,” said, “If you consider a 35-year loan term, it’s more realistic for the house price to be about 5 to 7 times annual income. If it exceeds 8 times, life becomes difficult.”

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