Methodology

Property Selection Criteria

Every building in this database was selected according to five formal criteria. This page documents exactly how properties qualify, how prices are estimated, and what the limitations are.

Five Inclusion Criteria

A property must satisfy all five of the following to be included.

01
Geography
Located within one of 10 central Tokyo wards: Minato-ku, Shibuya-ku, Chiyoda-ku, Chuo-ku, Shinjuku-ku, Bunkyo-ku, Shinagawa-ku, Koto-ku, Toshima-ku, or Nakano-ku. Outer wards are excluded.
02
Building Type
Purpose-built residential tower mansion (分譲マンション) with a minimum of 10 floors or 50 units. Detached houses, rental-only buildings, serviced apartments, and hotel-residences are excluded unless a separately titled residential component exists.
03
Price Data Availability
At least one verifiable price reference must exist: a current broker listing (Verified), a Tokyo Kantei ward benchmark with documented adjustments (Estimated), or a ward average (Benchmark). Buildings with no price reference at all are excluded.
04
English-Language Accessibility
At least one licensed broker actively markets units from this building in English. Qualifying brokers include Tokyo Portfolio, Plaza Homes, Housing Japan, Ken Corporation, Mitsui Fudosan Realty Global, and Savills Japan.
05
Developer Credibility
Developed or co-developed by a recognised Japanese or international developer. Japanese: Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Jisho, Mori Building, Sumitomo Realty, Nomura Real Estate, Tokyu, Tokyo Tatemono, Sekisui House. International: Aman, EQT, Westbank.

Tier Classification

Buildings are assigned to one of four tiers based on estimated price per m².

T1Ultra-Luxury
¥4M/m²+
¥500M – ¥20B+
T2Premium
¥2.5M – ¥4M/m²
¥150M – ¥1.5B
T3High-End
¥1.5M – ¥2.5M/m²
¥80M – ¥500M
T4Mid-Market
¥1.2M – ¥1.8M/m²
¥45M – ¥350M

Note: Tier boundaries overlap slightly. A building at ¥1.7M/m² may be T3 or T4 depending on location prestige, developer brand, and amenity level. Tier assignments are reviewed annually.

Price Per m² Methodology

Three source tiers, in order of reliability.

V — Verified
Actual broker listing or reported transaction with stated price and floor area. Calculated as: Listed Price ÷ Exclusive Area (専有面積). Source cited in each property entry.
E — Estimated
Tokyo Kantei ward benchmark ± documented adjustments: +20–40% for top-brand developer, +10–20% for premium location, +5–15% for new build, −10–20% for leasehold, −5–10% for age discount.
B — Benchmark
Tokyo Kantei ward average only. Used when no building-specific data is available. Treated as a floor estimate, not a point estimate. Margin of error ±20–25%.
What ¥/m² means here: All figures are gross price per exclusive area (専有面積). They do not include common area ratios, parking spaces, storage, or balcony area.

Yield Estimates

All yields are gross estimated yields calculated as:

Annual Gross Rent ÷ Purchase Price × 100

Rental rates are sourced from Tokyo Portfolio, Plaza Homes, and published expat market surveys.

Net yields (after management fees, taxes, vacancy, and maintenance) are typically 0.8–1.2 percentage points lower than the figures shown.

Data Sources

Tokyo Kantei (東京カンテイ)
Ward-level benchmark data, updated semi-annually
Mitsui Fudosan Realty Global
Primary and secondary market listings
Tokyo Portfolio
Curated luxury listings and transaction reports
Plaza Homes
Foreign-buyer-focused listings
Housing Japan
Bilingual market commentary and listings
Savills Japan
Prime residential market reports
Japan Times / Nikkei
Reported transaction prices for record sales
MLIT Reinfolib API
Official government transaction records (PDL 1.0)

Limitations

  • Covers ~100 of Tokyo's ~3,000+ tower mansions — focused on buildings relevant to foreign investors at ¥45M+
  • Reference data, not a live listings feed — prices shown are estimated market levels, not current asking prices
  • Only gross yields are estimated — deduct 0.8–1.2pp for a rough net yield
  • Three buildings carry leasehold land (借地権), flagged ⚠ — affects financing, resale, and long-term value
  • Prices vary significantly by floor, orientation, and renovation status within the same building
  • Estimated (E) and Benchmark (B) figures have a margin of error of ±15–25%

Update Schedule

MLIT transaction dataQuarterly (via API)
Tokyo Kantei ward benchmarksSemi-annually (H1 and H2)
Broker listing spot-checksQuarterly
Building additions / removalsAnnually

Questions about methodology or data corrections?

Contact the data team →
← Back to database