Economy

Major roadside land prices edge up in 2022

Reuters file photo
General view of the Sapporo Odori Park and city center in Sapporo, Hokkaido, February 25, 2020.

Jiji Press

12:30 JST, July 2, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prices of land facing major streets in Japan as of Jan. 1 rose 0.5% from a year before on average, following the first drop in six years in 2021 that reflected the fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the National Tax Agency said Friday.

In 2021, the average roadside land price fell 0.5%.

Roadside land prices per square meter, used as a basis for calculating inheritance and gift taxes, rose in 20 of the country’s 47 prefectures this year, with Hokkaido marking the steepest growth of 4.0%.

The rise in Hokkaido came as demand for residential land is increasing in and around Sapporo and a new stadium for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters professional baseball team is being built in the city of Kitahiroshima, adjacent to Sapporo.

Fukuoka Prefecture ranked second, with a 3.6% increase, thanks to strong demand for office space and condominiums, followed by Miyagi Prefecture, where the average roadside land price went up 2.9% to maintain its rising streak that started in 2013.

By contrast, prices declined in 27 prefectures, including Wakayama and Fukui, where the pace of declines expanded to 1.3% from the 2021 reading of 1.2% and to 0.9% from 0.8%, respectively.

Among the 47 prefectural capitals, the highest roadside land price rose in 15, fell in 16 and was flat in the remaining 16.

The biggest growth among prefectural capitals was 5.1%, logged in Chiba City, where a redevelopment project is underway in front of JR Chiba Station. The second-biggest rise was 4.8%, in Sapporo, which has a redevelopment plan for an area near Sapporo Station of Hokkaido Railway Co.

Meanwhile, the steepest decline was 5.8%, marked in Kobe where the flow of people decreased amid the COVID-19 crisis. The second-biggest drop was 4.8% in Tottori City.

The site in front of the Kyukyodo stationery shop in the upscale Ginza district in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward had the highest per-square-meter roadside land price, at ¥42.24 million, ranking top for the 37th straight year.

But the price fell 1.1% year on year, down for the second successive year, apparently because foreign tourists have yet to return to the capital amid the pandemic, although the flow of people at home is recovering.