Average residential land prices nationwide increased 1.3 percent for the year as of Jan. 1, up from the 0.1 percent rise a year before, according to the land ministry. Average commercial land prices also gained for the second straight year, rising 3.8 percent, up from the previous year's 2.3 percent increase.
In the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya megalopolises, residential land prices rose for the second straight year while commercial land prices were up for the third year in a row. The three metro areas saw average rises of 4.3 percent for residential property and 10.4 percent for commercial land. But the pace of increase for both residential and commercial land slowed in central parts of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. The average year-on-year increase for residential areas in Tokyo's 23 wards dropped to 10.4 percent from the previous year's 11.4 percent.
At 14 locations in Chiyoda, Chuo and six other wards, residential land prices rose 10 percent or more. But at 13 locations, price increases in the last half of 2007 were smaller than in the first half. A similar trend was seen in 25 of 28 commercial locations in central Tokyo, where land prices rose by 10 percent or more.