2020 in one table
This report uses East Japan REINS data for used-condominium completed transactions in the metropolitan region: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. It is not a Japan-wide house-price index and not a Tokyo 23-ward series.
| Measure | 2020 result | Annual movement reported by REINS |
|---|---|---|
| Completed sales | 35,825 | -6.0% |
| Completed price per m² | JPY 551,700 | +3.2% |
| Average completed price | JPY 35.99m | +4.6% |
| Average completed area | 65.24 m² | — |
| Average completed age | 21.99 years | — |
| New registrations | 181,750 | -11.3% |
The clean result is a price-volume split: fewer completions and registrations, but higher average completed pricing.
What the year established
2020 is often reduced to a pandemic narrative. The annual data do not support saying that the metropolitan used-condominium market simply “fell.” Completed volume did fall, yet the units that completed traded at higher average prices and a higher price per square metre.
This does not prove the pandemic caused prices to rise or that every property appreciated. It establishes that transaction interruption and average price can move in opposite directions. Sellers may withhold stock, buyers may concentrate on more financeable or desirable assets, and the geographic and property mix may change.
Read the lower volume correctly
The 6.0% fall in completed sales measures fewer registered transactions, not the amount of unsatisfied demand or the discount available to a buyer. The 11.3% fall in new registrations indicates less property entering that recorded pool, but cannot by itself separate seller reluctance, operational disruption and market weakness.
A buyer in 2020 faced a different selection process, not one regional clearance price. Subject-level bargaining still depended on building, lease, condition, seller and competing stock.
Read the higher price correctly
The JPY 551,700 completed price per square metre is an average of transacted units. It is sensitive to location, size, age, floor and quality. The JPY 35.99 million average total price adds the effect of unit area. Neither is a repeat-sales measure for one apartment.
Use the figures to establish market context, then build a matched completed-comparable set. A 3.2% regional increase is not permission to multiply a 2019 appraisal by 1.032.
What a 2020 property file should test
For a property bought or valued in 2020, reconstruct what was known on the actual decision date. Use completed transactions available then, the subject's marketing history, finance conditions, inspection constraints and the seller's timetable. Do not apply the full-year result retrospectively as if it had been public at signing.
For later performance analysis, separate acquisition selection from the regional outcome. A 2020 buyer may have benefited from subsequent market repricing, but building condition, capital work, rent and currency still determine realised return.
How 2020 fits the later series
The completed price per square metre rose from JPY 551,700 in 2020 to JPY 829,800 in 2025, while the average completed unit became smaller and older. The starting year therefore anchors a substantial nominal repricing, but the changing transaction basket prevents a simple same-asset conclusion.
The 2020 lesson remains useful: volume, inventory and price answer different questions. A serious market report must carry all of them and label the property mix.
Limits and use
The figures are nominal, regional and segment-specific. They do not control for inflation, financing, tax, renovation, exact geography or unit attributes. Annual averages also conceal the sharp within-year disruption that purchasers experienced.
Use this page for dated context and year-specific search. Use the 2020–2026 time-series report for the longer comparison, then move to building-level completed evidence for a decision.
Primary sources
- East Japan REINS — 2020 metropolitan property market report: https://www.reins.or.jp/pdf/trend/sf/sf_2020.pdf
- East Japan REINS — Market trend report library: https://www.reins.or.jp/library/trend/
- MLIT — Real-estate information library: https://www.reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/
Figures reviewed and transcribed 23 August 2026. Observation period: calendar year 2020.
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