Tokyo's 23 wards averaged ¥87,000 and ¥3,134 per square meter
East Japan REINS recorded 5,212 completed apartment leases in Tokyo's 23 wards during April-June 2026. Average monthly rent was ¥87,000, average floor area 27.89 square meters and average rent per square meter ¥3,134. Outside the 23 wards but within Tokyo, 1,707 leases averaged ¥67,000 and ¥2,132 per square meter. Even inside Tokyo Metropolis, rental levels differ substantially, making a broad Tokyo average insufficient for underwriting small residential rental assets.
Saitama averaged ¥62,000, Chiba ¥60,000 and Yokohama-Kawasaki ¥70,000
Elsewhere in Greater Tokyo, apartment rent averaged ¥62,000 and ¥1,872 per square meter in Saitama, ¥60,000 and ¥1,868 in Chiba, ¥70,000 and ¥2,501 in Yokohama-Kawasaki, and ¥63,000 and ¥1,893 in the rest of Kanagawa. Lower acquisition prices in suburban markets can produce higher advertised yields, but rents are also lower. Leasing periods, tenant turnover, management and repair expenses must be included before assuming that suburban assets automatically produce better returns.
Whole-building investors need to model vacancy across multiple units
An overseas investor buying an entire apartment building should not simply multiply an average rent by the number of units. Properties dependent on a university, factory, office cluster or single transport hub can see changes in local employment or population affect several units at once. Multiple units can also diversify the impact of a single vacancy. A realistic underwriting model should combine actual contracted-rent data with current occupancy, renewal history, leasing conditions, restoration costs and the building's repair plan, using sustainable occupancy rather than a permanent full-occupancy assumption.