Photo/Illutration To curb resale before handover, the developer of this condominium building in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward will cancel contracts and seize deposits if unauthorized transactions are found. (Provided by Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co., Nomura Real Estate Development Co. and Taisei Corp.)

Foreign buyers of newly built condominiums in the capital appear focused mainly on six central wards in Tokyo, a land ministry survey showed.

The study found that 7.5 percent of all buyers in Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya wards between January and June had overseas addresses.

The ratio fell to 3.5 percent across Tokyo’s 23 wards and to 1.9 percent for the greater metropolitan area, including Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures.

Although foreign speculative investment has been cited as a factor behind soaring condominium prices in Tokyo, the survey suggests the impact may be limited to certain areas, ministry officials said.

It was the ministry’s first investigation into condominium ownership using property registration data.

The ministry said speculative transactions not grounded in actual demand are undesirable. It will analyze short-term resales regardless of whether buyers live in Japan or abroad.

Government data shows the share of overseas buyers has rebounded in central Tokyo.

In 2024, the ratio of foreign buyers in the six central wards was 3.2 percent, down from an earlier peak of 5.3 percent in 2018.

Other surveys in prefectures with large urban centers found overseas buyers made 2.6 percent of the purchases in Osaka, 2.3 percent in Kyoto and 0.4 percent in Aichi during the same six-month period.

Amid concerns over speculative activity, the Real Estate Companies Association of Japan is preparing measures to prohibit resales of condominiums before handover.

Developers will be able to cancel contracts and confiscate deposits if unauthorized resales are discovered.

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