On October 29th, the Association of Real Estate Agents of Japan (in Japanese Fudousan Ryutsu Keiei Kyokai; locally known by the abbreviation FRK) announced findings from their 2024 Consumer Trends Survey on Real Estate Distribution, marking the survey's 29th edition.
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This annual survey examines home-buying trends among families in the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) and gathered 1,348 responses from households that completed home purchases between April 2023 and March 2024.
The GTA consists of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures.
Percentage changes below refer to differences between the prior year’s survey results.
Trends in Home Purchases: Flexibility over Specific Property Types
While 45.4% of existing home buyers focused primarily on purchasing a pre-owned property (down from 50% last year), a notable 50.3% expressed no preference between new or existing homes, up from 46.4%.
Funding Sources and Parental Support
Funding sources varied between new and existing home purchases:
Proceeds from previous home sales: ¥36.8 million for new home buyers (down from ¥40.3 million) and ¥32.2 million for existing home buyers (up from ¥28.3 million).
Parental gifts: Utilized by 19.7% of new home buyers and 9.9% of existing home buyers, with average contributions of ¥7.7 million for new homes (down from ¥9.2 million) and ¥7.5 million for existing homes (up from ¥7.3 million).
Home Resales: Profits and Losses by Property Age
A total of 470 households transitioned to new residences after selling their previous homes, with 71% successfully selling their prior property.
Of the 305 respondents who provided details on purchase and resale values:
59.7% achieved profits (up 2.4 percentage points), while 32.8% incurred losses (down 4.6 percentage points).
Average resale profit: ¥4.26 million, a rise from ¥3.17 million in the previous survey.
Profitability by property age:
Homes under 5 years: ¥10.17 million (up from ¥8.24 million)
5–10 years: ¥14.32 million (up from ¥5.9 million)
10–15 years: ¥7.06 million (slightly down from ¥7.27 million)
15–20 years: ¥8.45 million (down from ¥8.82 million)
20–25 years: ¥0.91 million (down from ¥5.97 million)
Over 25 years: an average loss of ¥2.71 million (improving from a previous loss of ¥4.39 million)
Profits were generally observed for homes under 25 years old, while older properties over 25 years often resulted in losses.
The average loss for homes sold at a deficit rose to ¥11.64 million, up from ¥11.13 million.
Impact of Japan's Mortgage Tax Deduction Program
The Mortgage Tax Deduction Program played a significant role in purchasing decisions for some buyers:
28.2% of new home buyers (down from 29.3%) and 16.4% of existing home buyers (down from 17.3%) cited the program as a major influence.
Specific benefits included:
Ability to purchase a home: 41.7%
Easier loan repayment planning: 31.1% (down from 43.2%)
Accelerated purchase timing: 25.3% (down from 34.2%)
Reduced need for personal funds: 16.7% (down from 31.5%)
Although there are discussions around discontinuing the Mortgage Tax Deduction Program, FRK emphasized the program’s significance in supporting home buyers.
Source:
R.E. Port News (Japanese only)
