TOKYO: The average sales price for newly built apartments in central Tokyo leapt 84.8 per cent from a year earlier to 133.4 million yen (US$911,950) in July, data from the Real Estate Economic Institute showed on Thursday, on strong demand from local and foreign investors.
Buyers also looking for apartments in the greater Tokyo area pushed up the average sale price by 55.8 per cent to 99.4 million yen, the private think tank data showed.
The price of newly built units in the 23 wards that make up the central Tokyo was equivalent to 30 times the nation's average annual salary of 4.41 million yen.
The average sales price for the greater area, made up of Tokyo and the three neighbouring prefectures, rose for the fifth straight month, the institute's data showed.
Of 2,591 units that went on the market in July, 25 per cent of them were sold out on the same day.
The institute's report did not give details about the buyers, but analysts say the weaker yen and low interest rates have encouraged institutional and individual investors to buy Tokyo real estate, anticipating high returns. ($1 = 146.2900 yen) - Reuters