2026 Official Land Prices: National Average Up for a Fifth Year, Commercial Land +4.3%Land prices rose for the fifth year in a row on January 1, 2026
In the Official Land Prices as of January 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8) announced by MLIT, the national average change was +2.8% for all uses, +2.1% for residential land and +4.3% for commercial land, all rising for the fifth straight year. The gains widened for all uses and commercial land, while residential land was unchanged from the year before. Tokyo and Osaka areas widened and the Nagoya area narrowed.
Key points
- National average change: all uses 2.8% (2.7% a year earlier), residential 2.1% (2.1%), commercial 4.3% (3.9%). The rise widened for all uses and commercial land; residential land was the same as before
- The three major metropolitan areas rose for a fifth year: all uses 4.6%, residential 3.5%, commercial 7.8%. The Tokyo area (all uses 5.7%) and Osaka area (3.8%) widened; the Nagoya area (2.3%) narrowed
- Regional areas also rose for a fifth year: all uses 1.2%, residential 0.9%, commercial 1.6%. All uses and residential narrowed; commercial was unchanged. The four regional cities (Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Fukuoka) narrowed to 4.5% for all uses
- MLIT explains that, with the economy recovering moderately, land prices keep an upward trend overall despite differences by area and use. Demand for stores and hotels is firm, and offices are more profitable thanks to lower vacancy and higher rents
What to do in practice
- Check trends in the areas of your owned land and rental properties in the MLIT publications
- When planning a purchase, sale, loan or revaluation, consult a professional (real estate appraiser, tax accountant, etc.) with the differences by area and use in mind
Every year the government checks the price per square meter of land at chosen places (called the official land price) and announces it. As of January 1, 2026, land for homes and land for stores and buildings both rose on national average for five years straight. But how much it rose differs a lot from place to place.
Points
- Land for homes (residential) rose 2.1% on national average, the same as the year before
- Land for stores and buildings (commercial) rose 4.3%, more than the year before (3.9%)
- Around Tokyo the rise was especially big, and around Nagoya the rise became smaller
What the words mean
- Official land price
- The usual price of land at chosen places as of January 1, checked and announced by the government each year
- Rate of change
- A number showing by what percent the price changed compared with the year before
- Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT): MLIT: 2026 (Reiwa 8) Official Land Prices (press release)
- Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT): MLIT: Overview of the 2026 (Reiwa 8) Official Land Prices
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.