LDP proposes restrictions on speculative condo trading

A project team of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday a proposal for measures to restrict speculative trading of condominiums.

Takaichi said that her government will steadily work on the matter.

In the proposal, the team under the party’s Headquarters for Foreign Nationals Policy said that some have cited an increase in short-term transactions mainly by foreign nationals as a reason for recent surges in condo prices.

It also said that concerns that residential properties in urban areas may have been bought for speculative purposes are fueling fears among local residents.

The team called on the government to take action, including tax measures, as soon as possible, saying that speculative transactions that are not based on actual demand should be restricted, regardless of whether they are conducted by Japanese or foreign nationals.

In 2024, 12.1% of new condos in Tokyo’s Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya wards were sold off less than a year after being purchased, according to data released by the land ministry in September. The proportion of new condos in the six wards that were purchased in 2025 by those whose registered addresses are outside of Japan came to 5.9%.

In its tax system reform proposal for fiscal 2027, the ministry included measures to restrict the speculative trading of new condos.

The government and the LDP-led ruling bloc plan to hold specific discussions on the matter while studying measures adopted in other countries, such as Singapore, which limits buyers of residential properties to permanent residents.