What the data says
A typical house (land + building) in the three JASM towns sold for US$178,000 (¥28.0m) in 2025, across 51 broker-reported closed sales. Residential-size land (100–500㎡) went for US$28/ft² (¥47,619/㎡). In Kumamoto City, resale condos in Chuo ward sold at US$152/ft² (¥257,143/㎡). Land in the three towns started rising before JASM was announced and has been broadly flat since 2022.
The same figures in other currencies (ECB rates of 2026-09-25; TWD: U.S. Federal Reserve H.10 rate of 2026-09-18):
| JPY | USD | AUD | HKD | SGD | TWD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House, 3 JASM towns (median, closed) | ¥28.0m | US$178,000 | A$253,000 | HK$1.39m | S$227,000 | NT$5.68m |
| House, Kikuyo (median 2021–2025, survey, house use) | ¥34.0m | US$216,000 | A$307,000 | HK$1.69m | S$276,000 | NT$6.90m |
| House, Higashi ward (median, closed) | ¥26.5m | US$168,000 | A$239,000 | HK$1.32m | S$215,000 | NT$5.38m |
| Resale condo, Chuo ward (median, closed) | ¥22.0m | US$140,000 | A$199,000 | HK$1.10m | S$178,000 | NT$4.46m |
| Land plot 100–500㎡, 3 towns (median, survey) | ¥11.0m | US$69,801 | A$99,288 | HK$548,000 | S$89,145 | NT$2.23m |
What this data can and cannot tell you
- The rise came before the announcement. Residential-size land in the three towns (buyer survey, median ¥/㎡): ¥34,167 in 2015 → ¥44,000 in 2020 (+29%), before JASM was announced in November 2021. The median house price (survey) went from ¥24.0m to ¥30.0m over the same years.
- Flat since 2022–23. Land: ¥52,174 in 2022, ¥47,619 in 2025. The survey house median peaked in 2023 (¥35.5m) and was ¥32.5m in 2025.
- Closed house prices look higher, with a caveat: ¥118,367/㎡ in 2023 → ¥147,619 in 2025, on 25 → 51 sales; but 18 of the 2025 sales were new builds (vs 2 a year earlier), which lifts the median.
- The data has no buyer nationality and no payment method (cash or loan). It cannot confirm or refute reports about Taiwanese buyers paying cash for houses.
- Thin data: a few dozen closed sales a year in the towns and almost no condos. Thin cells are shown as 2021–2025 pooled ranges or not at all.
- No forecasts. A factory and jobs do not guarantee higher prices. On the “ghost town” reports: Is Kumamoto a ghost town? What the reports say and what the public data shows.
The JASM towns: Kikuyo, Ozu, Koshi (2025)
Houses and condos use closed prices (成約価格, reported by brokers through REINS, from 2021). Land has no closed prices, so land uses MLIT's buyer survey (取引価格・アンケート), labelled. The two are never added together.
Houses, land + building (closed prices)
| Area | Sales 2025 | Median price | Per sq ft land area | ¥/㎡ vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | 18 | US$209,000 ¥33.0m | US$103/ft² ¥174,149/㎡ | +10.5% |
| Ozu | 5 sales in 2025 → pooled 2021–2025 (9 sales): median ¥29.0m (middle half ¥27.0m–¥35.0m), ¥118,367/㎡ | |||
| Koshi | 28 | US$149,000 ¥23.5m | US$75/ft² ¥126,599/㎡ | +16.5% |
| 3 towns combined | 51 | US$178,000 ¥28.0m | US$87/ft² ¥147,619/㎡ | +13.8% |
Per sq ft of land, building included — not comparable with condo figures.
Resale condos (closed prices)
| Area | Sales 2025 | Median price | Per sq ft floor area | ¥/㎡ vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | 1 sale in 2025 → pooled 2021–2025 (10 sales): median ¥26.5m (middle half ¥25.0m–¥32.8m), ¥297,368/㎡ | |||
| Ozu | no sales recorded | |||
| Koshi | only 2 sales in 2021–2025; not shown | |||
| 3 towns combined | 1 sale in 2025 → pooled 2021–2025 (12 sales): median ¥25.0m (middle half ¥22.5m–¥30.2m), ¥297,368/㎡ | |||
Almost no resale condos trade in the three towns (12 in 2021–2025). New-build flats are not in this data.
Land (buyer survey, plots of 100–500㎡)
| Area | Plots 2025 100–500㎡ | Median price | Per sq ft | vs 2024 | For reference all plots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo* | 30 of 63 | US$62,000 ¥9.75m | US$20/ft² ¥34,702/㎡ | -56.1% | ¥20,000/㎡ all sizes |
| Ozu | 16 of 44 | US$61,000 ¥9.65m | US$20/ft² ¥33,333/㎡ | +32.7% | ¥36,667/㎡ all sizes |
| Koshi | 57 of 91 | US$76,000 ¥12.0m | US$29/ft² ¥50,000/㎡ | +9.1% | ¥34,483/㎡ all sizes |
| 3 towns combined | 103 of 198 | US$70,000 ¥11.0m | US$28/ft² ¥47,619/㎡ | -1.8% | ¥23,495/㎡ all sizes |
* Kikuyo's 2025 median is unusually low: a batch of plots at ¥16,000–22,000/㎡ in Magate, Haramizu and Babakusu (the same price repeated, apparently a subdivision or outlying lots) pulled it down. It does not mean land values in Kikuyo halved. About 30 plots a year: do not read much into one year.
Why only 100–500㎡: large factory and development sites also change hands here. They are cheap per ㎡ and swing the median (Kikuyo, all plots: ¥78,416/㎡ in 2024, ¥20,000 in 2025). The three towns had 83 sales of plots over 1,000㎡ in 2024 (25–40 in a usual year). Plots the size of one house are closer to what a home buyer sees. The right-hand column is the all-sizes figure for reference.
New or older houses? (3 towns, 2021–2025)
Closed sales by building age: new builds (up to 1 year) had a median of ¥34.0m; houses 31+ years old ¥19.0m. In the survey (house use only), 42% were new builds.
| Building age | Closed sales | Closed: median price | Closed: per sq ft land area | Survey responses house use only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New / up to 1 year | 23 | US$216,000 ¥34.0m | US$114/ft² ¥192,593/㎡ | 236 42% |
| 2–10 years | 25 | US$197,000 ¥31.0m | US$97/ft² ¥164,706/㎡ | 49 9% |
| 11–20 years | 24 | US$184,000 ¥29.0m | US$88/ft² ¥149,419/㎡ | 47 8% |
| 21–30 years | 18 | US$155,000 ¥24.5m | US$68/ft² ¥115,038/㎡ | 45 8% |
| 31+ years | 50 | US$121,000 ¥19.0m | US$47/ft² ¥78,889/㎡ | 128 23% |
| Unknown | 0 | — | — | 54 10% |
Price bands (3 towns, 2021–2025)
Most houses sold for ¥25–35 million (32% of survey responses, house use only). Medians by town: Kikuyo ¥34.0m, Koshi ¥28.0m, Ozu ¥22.0m.
| Price | Kikuyo survey | Koshi survey | Ozu survey | 3 towns combined survey | 3 towns closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under ¥15m | 7 4% | 50 18% | 34 27% | 91 16% | 17 |
| ¥15–25m | 22 14% | 57 21% | 37 29% | 116 21% | 42 |
| ¥25–35m | 54 34% | 84 31% | 39 31% | 177 32% | 49 |
| ¥35–45m | 45 28% | 51 19% | 11 9% | 107 19% | 28 |
| ¥45–60m | 24 15% | 28 10% | 4 3% | 56 10% | 3 |
| ¥60m+ | 7 4% | 3 1% | 2 2% | 12 2% | 1 |
| Median (count) | ¥34.0m US$216,000 · n=159 | ¥28.0m US$178,000 · n=273 | ¥22.0m US$140,000 · n=127 | ¥28.0m US$178,000 · n=559 | ¥26.0m n=140 |
Cells: number of sales (share of the town). Survey = house use only; closed = 3 towns together. Shown side by side, never pooled.
Kumamoto City: Higashi, Kita and Chuo wards (2025)
Higashi and Kita wards border Koshi and Kikuyo and are within commuting distance; Chuo is the city centre.
Houses (closed prices)
| Area | Sales 2025 | Median price | Per sq ft land area | ¥/㎡ vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higashi ward | 94 | US$168,000 ¥26.5m | US$90/ft² ¥151,926/㎡ | +8.3% |
| Kita ward | 74 | US$140,000 ¥22.0m | US$60/ft² ¥102,381/㎡ | +5.3% |
| Chuo ward | 36 | US$203,000 ¥32.0m | US$135/ft² ¥229,741/㎡ | +46.4% |
Resale condos (closed prices)
| Area | Sales 2025 | Median price | Per sq ft floor area | ¥/㎡ vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higashi ward | 59 | US$89,000 ¥14.0m | US$103/ft² ¥175,000/㎡ | -6.3% |
| Kita ward | 11 sales in 2025 → pooled 2021–2025 (65 sales): median ¥13.0m (middle half ¥10.0m–¥21.0m), ¥169,231/㎡ | |||
| Chuo ward | 207 | US$140,000 ¥22.0m | US$152/ft² ¥257,143/㎡ | +6.2% |
Land (buyer survey, 100–500㎡)
| Area | Plots 2025 100–500㎡ | Median price | Per sq ft | vs 2024 | For reference all plots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higashi ward | 87 of 120 | US$121,000 ¥19.0m | US$47/ft² ¥79,167/㎡ | -5.7% | ¥77,778/㎡ all sizes |
| Kita ward | 48 of 63 | US$63,000 ¥10.0m | US$27/ft² ¥45,972/㎡ | -3.3% | ¥44,486/㎡ all sizes |
| Chuo ward | 87 of 114 | US$203,000 ¥32.0m | US$87/ft² ¥148,276/㎡ | +24.3% | ¥147,018/㎡ all sizes |
The other series: buyer-survey prices for houses and condos (2025)
The survey covers some of the same sales, so it is shown on its own. Survey “houses” include small apartment buildings and shops.
Houses (survey)
| Area | Responses | Median price | ¥/㎡ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | 42 | ¥37.0m | ¥165,952/㎡ |
| Ozu | 35 | ¥33.0m | ¥107,692/㎡ |
| Koshi | 69 | ¥28.0m | ¥101,786/㎡ |
| 3 towns combined | 146 | ¥32.5m | ¥128,571/㎡ |
| Higashi ward | 163 | ¥31.0m | ¥154,286/㎡ |
| Kita ward | 109 | ¥22.0m | ¥87,500/㎡ |
| Chuo ward | 138 | ¥39.5m | ¥214,286/㎡ |
Resale condos (survey)
| Area | Responses | Median price | ¥/㎡ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higashi ward | 22 | ¥17.5m | ¥260,952/㎡ |
| Kita ward | 4 | too few | |
| Chuo ward | 104 | ¥17.5m | ¥261,538/㎡ |
Trend 2015–2025
Closed prices start in 2021, so the long view uses the buyer survey (a separate line). Residential-size land in the three towns: +39% from 2015 to 2025; Higashi + Kita wards +23%.
Residential-size land (100–500㎡), median ¥/㎡, 2015–2025 (buyer survey)
Houses (land + building), median price, 2015–2025 (buyer survey)
Houses, closed prices, ¥ per ㎡ of land, 2021–2025
Table: land 100–500㎡, median ¥/㎡ by year (sales below)
| Area | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | ¥36k 46 | ¥35k 13 | ¥42k 54 | ¥52k 30 | ¥52k 47 | ¥62k 35 | ¥55k 39 | ¥65k 27 | ¥61k 28 | ¥79k 32 | ¥35k 30 |
| Ozu | ¥27k 22 | ¥20k 12 | ¥22k 19 | ¥27k 31 | ¥25k 42 | ¥24k 25 | ¥22k 28 | ¥25k 21 | ¥47k 32 | ¥25k 16 | ¥33k 16 |
| Koshi | ¥36k 67 | ¥37k 25 | ¥42k 47 | ¥33k 50 | ¥38k 56 | ¥43k 79 | ¥50k 69 | ¥52k 55 | ¥50k 61 | ¥46k 75 | ¥50k 57 |
| 3 towns combined | ¥34k 135 | ¥33k 50 | ¥40k 120 | ¥36k 111 | ¥40k 145 | ¥44k 139 | ¥45k 136 | ¥52k 103 | ¥50k 121 | ¥48k 123 | ¥48k 103 |
| Higashi ward | ¥57k 112 | ¥65k 83 | ¥65k 160 | ¥70k 161 | ¥67k 138 | ¥70k 149 | ¥71k 122 | ¥78k 95 | ¥79k 91 | ¥84k 88 | ¥79k 87 |
| Kita ward | ¥40k 57 | ¥44k 45 | ¥37k 83 | ¥40k 104 | ¥44k 85 | ¥38k 82 | ¥41k 85 | ¥46k 69 | ¥54k 64 | ¥48k 72 | ¥46k 48 |
| Chuo ward | ¥100k 105 | ¥88k 67 | ¥91k 115 | ¥91k 133 | ¥97k 108 | ¥94k 89 | ¥103k 103 | ¥120k 75 | ¥129k 73 | ¥119k 98 | ¥148k 87 |
| Higashi + Kita | ¥51k 169 | ¥59k 128 | ¥59k 243 | ¥57k 265 | ¥52k 223 | ¥57k 231 | ¥57k 207 | ¥62k 164 | ¥67k 155 | ¥64k 160 | ¥62k 135 |
Table: houses (survey), median price by year (sales below)
| Area | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | ¥23.5m 36 | ¥27.0m 13 | ¥28.0m 31 | ¥27.5m 42 | ¥34.0m 38 | ¥33.0m 44 | ¥29.5m 48 | ¥36.0m 41 | ¥39.0m 50 | ¥41.0m 47 | ¥37.0m 42 |
| Ozu | ¥23.5m 30 | ¥25.0m 19 | ¥18.0m 21 | ¥22.5m 24 | ¥22.0m 31 | ¥23.0m 27 | ¥22.0m 44 | ¥23.0m 38 | ¥31.5m 38 | ¥28.5m 30 | ¥33.0m 35 |
| Koshi | ¥25.0m 80 | ¥20.0m 41 | ¥18.0m 66 | ¥23.5m 64 | ¥26.0m 55 | ¥31.5m 80 | ¥29.0m 78 | ¥28.0m 71 | ¥30.5m 64 | ¥30.0m 71 | ¥28.0m 69 |
| 3 towns combined | ¥24.0m 146 | ¥21.0m 73 | ¥22.0m 118 | ¥25.0m 130 | ¥27.0m 124 | ¥30.0m 151 | ¥28.0m 170 | ¥30.0m 150 | ¥35.5m 152 | ¥33.0m 148 | ¥32.5m 146 |
| Higashi ward | ¥27.0m 176 | ¥27.0m 103 | ¥26.0m 170 | ¥28.0m 160 | ¥30.0m 186 | ¥30.0m 181 | ¥32.0m 203 | ¥32.0m 172 | ¥30.0m 178 | ¥30.0m 187 | ¥31.0m 163 |
| Kita ward | ¥17.0m 104 | ¥17.0m 81 | ¥18.0m 103 | ¥21.0m 117 | ¥22.0m 113 | ¥20.0m 119 | ¥20.0m 138 | ¥19.0m 115 | ¥23.0m 127 | ¥24.0m 138 | ¥22.0m 109 |
| Chuo ward | ¥30.0m 144 | ¥33.0m 90 | ¥31.5m 112 | ¥30.0m 121 | ¥32.0m 151 | ¥31.0m 143 | ¥35.0m 144 | ¥41.0m 126 | ¥36.0m 152 | ¥39.0m 140 | ¥39.5m 138 |
| Higashi + Kita | ¥24.0m 280 | ¥21.0m 184 | ¥23.0m 273 | ¥26.0m 277 | ¥26.0m 299 | ¥26.5m 300 | ¥28.0m 341 | ¥27.0m 287 | ¥27.0m 305 | ¥27.0m 325 | ¥28.0m 272 |
Quarterly sales, 3 towns, 2021 Q1 – 2026 Q1
A few to a few dozen sales a quarter, so medians swing; watch the counts and the direction. The newest quarter can still gain records. This data cannot show what the JASM dates did to prices.
3 towns (Kikuyo, Ozu, Koshi): houses, median price per quarter, 2021Q1–2026Q1
3 towns combined
| Quarter | Houses (closed) n · median | Houses (survey) n · median | Land (survey) n · ¥/㎡, all sizes | Condos (closed) n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021Q1 | 3 ¥23.0m | 44 ¥28.0m | 58 ¥37k | 0 |
| 2021Q2 | 2 ¥33.0m | 49 ¥28.0m | 51 ¥40k | 0 |
| 2021Q3 | 5 ¥19.0m | 36 ¥28.0m | 50 ¥38k | 1 |
| 2021Q4 | 1 ¥27.0m | 41 ¥30.0m | 52 ¥43k | 1 |
| 2022Q1 | 3 ¥25.0m | 28 ¥28.5m | 47 ¥40k | 1 |
| 2022Q2 | 4 ¥23.5m | 38 ¥28.5m | 44 ¥48k | 2 |
| 2022Q3 | 6 ¥19.5m | 44 ¥34.0m | 40 ¥52k | 0 |
| 2022Q4 | 3 ¥22.0m | 40 ¥34.5m | 43 ¥42k | 0 |
| 2023Q1 | 5 ¥25.0m | 41 ¥36.0m | 43 ¥45k | 0 |
| 2023Q2 | 8 ¥32.0m | 38 ¥35.5m | 45 ¥41k | 0 |
| 2023Q3 | 6 ¥19.0m | 49 ¥32.0m | 57 ¥52k | 1 |
| 2023Q4 | 6 ¥32.0m | 24 ¥37.5m | 57 ¥47k | 0 |
| 2024Q1 | 9 ¥24.0m | 33 ¥32.0m | 60 ¥49k | 3 |
| 2024Q2 | 7 ¥23.0m | 44 ¥30.0m | 59 ¥46k | 0 |
| 2024Q3 | 7 ¥40.0m | 33 ¥35.0m | 69 ¥38k | 0 |
| 2024Q4 | 14 ¥25.5m | 38 ¥36.0m | 61 ¥44k | 2 |
| 2025Q1 | 10 ¥25.0m | 36 ¥30.5m | 56 ¥18k | 0 |
| 2025Q2 | 13 ¥28.0m | 45 ¥36.0m | 47 ¥21k | 0 |
| 2025Q3 | 19 ¥31.0m | 28 ¥28.0m | 62 ¥23k | 1 |
| 2025Q4 | 9 ¥27.0m | 37 ¥33.0m | 33 ¥52k | 0 |
| 2026Q1 | 11 ¥29.0m | 15 ¥33.0m | 17 ¥28k | 1 |
Quarterly tables by town
Kikuyo
| Quarter | Houses (closed) n · median | Houses (survey) n · median | Land (survey) n · ¥/㎡, all sizes | Condos (closed) n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021Q1 | 2 ¥23.5m | 14 ¥31.5m | 20 ¥44k | 0 |
| 2021Q2 | 1 ¥28.0m | 13 ¥26.0m | 5 ¥48k | 0 |
| 2021Q3 | 2 ¥22.0m | 10 ¥30.0m | 16 ¥45k | 1 |
| 2021Q4 | 0 — | 11 ¥42.0m | 11 ¥59k | 0 |
| 2022Q1 | 2 ¥25.0m | 9 ¥36.0m | 11 ¥46k | 1 |
| 2022Q2 | 1 ¥31.0m | 9 ¥32.0m | 15 ¥60k | 1 |
| 2022Q3 | 3 ¥23.0m | 10 ¥39.0m | 10 ¥58k | 0 |
| 2022Q4 | 1 ¥22.0m | 13 ¥36.0m | 10 ¥67k | 0 |
| 2023Q1 | 1 ¥25.0m | 9 ¥36.0m | 9 ¥52k | 0 |
| 2023Q2 | 6 ¥32.0m | 12 ¥37.0m | 8 ¥25k | 0 |
| 2023Q3 | 0 — | 19 ¥45.0m | 15 ¥61k | 1 |
| 2023Q4 | 3 ¥42.0m | 10 ¥42.5m | 13 ¥67k | 0 |
| 2024Q1 | 2 ¥31.0m | 11 ¥39.0m | 16 ¥100k | 3 |
| 2024Q2 | 4 ¥25.0m | 15 ¥34.0m | 13 ¥67k | 0 |
| 2024Q3 | 5 ¥40.0m | 10 ¥40.5m | 11 ¥77k | 0 |
| 2024Q4 | 5 ¥26.0m | 11 ¥65.0m | 15 ¥72k | 2 |
| 2025Q1 | 0 — | 9 ¥47.0m | 13 ¥18k | 0 |
| 2025Q2 | 6 ¥28.0m | 12 ¥35.5m | 19 ¥18k | 0 |
| 2025Q3 | 8 ¥35.0m | 9 ¥34.0m | 25 ¥20k | 1 |
| 2025Q4 | 4 ¥33.5m | 12 ¥37.5m | 6 ¥58k | 0 |
| 2026Q1 | 3 ¥36.0m | 4 ¥36.5m | 3 ¥108k | 1 |
Ozu
| Quarter | Houses (closed) n · median | Houses (survey) n · median | Land (survey) n · ¥/㎡, all sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021Q1 | 0 — | 11 ¥20.0m | 12 ¥15k |
| 2021Q2 | 1 ¥38.0m | 14 ¥22.0m | 11 ¥26k |
| 2021Q3 | 0 — | 9 ¥27.0m | 10 ¥18k |
| 2021Q4 | 0 — | 10 ¥20.5m | 15 ¥20k |
| 2022Q1 | 0 — | 9 ¥16.0m | 17 ¥15k |
| 2022Q2 | 0 — | 12 ¥30.0m | 6 ¥29k |
| 2022Q3 | 0 — | 6 ¥22.0m | 11 ¥32k |
| 2022Q4 | 0 — | 11 ¥22.0m | 11 ¥13k |
| 2023Q1 | 0 — | 11 ¥35.0m | 15 ¥35k |
| 2023Q2 | 0 — | 12 ¥12.5m | 15 ¥34k |
| 2023Q3 | 1 ¥29.0m | 7 ¥13.0m | 14 ¥40k |
| 2023Q4 | 0 — | 8 ¥33.5m | 13 ¥48k |
| 2024Q1 | 0 — | 6 ¥29.5m | 14 ¥24k |
| 2024Q2 | 0 — | 13 ¥34.0m | 15 ¥21k |
| 2024Q3 | 0 — | 6 ¥27.5m | 6 ¥43k |
| 2024Q4 | 2 ¥33.5m | 5 ¥24.0m | 14 ¥28k |
| 2025Q1 | 2 ¥27.0m | 9 ¥29.0m | 10 ¥23k |
| 2025Q2 | 1 ¥23.0m | 12 ¥35.5m | 5 ¥8k |
| 2025Q3 | 2 ¥34.5m | 7 ¥25.0m | 17 ¥45k |
| 2025Q4 | 0 — | 7 ¥35.0m | 12 ¥37k |
| 2026Q1 | 2 ¥27.5m | 1 ¥2.00m | 7 ¥10k |
Koshi
| Quarter | Houses (closed) n · median | Houses (survey) n · median | Land (survey) n · ¥/㎡, all sizes | Condos (closed) n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021Q1 | 1 ¥23.0m | 19 ¥30.0m | 26 ¥43k | 0 |
| 2021Q2 | 0 — | 22 ¥29.0m | 35 ¥49k | 0 |
| 2021Q3 | 3 ¥13.0m | 17 ¥28.0m | 24 ¥37k | 0 |
| 2021Q4 | 1 ¥27.0m | 20 ¥27.5m | 26 ¥48k | 1 |
| 2022Q1 | 1 ¥25.0m | 10 ¥26.0m | 19 ¥45k | 0 |
| 2022Q2 | 3 ¥16.0m | 17 ¥25.0m | 23 ¥44k | 1 |
| 2022Q3 | 3 ¥14.0m | 28 ¥34.0m | 19 ¥55k | 0 |
| 2022Q4 | 2 ¥18.0m | 16 ¥32.5m | 22 ¥42k | 0 |
| 2023Q1 | 4 ¥22.5m | 21 ¥39.0m | 19 ¥46k | 0 |
| 2023Q2 | 2 ¥32.0m | 14 ¥36.0m | 22 ¥44k | 0 |
| 2023Q3 | 5 ¥15.0m | 23 ¥29.0m | 28 ¥52k | 0 |
| 2023Q4 | 3 ¥29.0m | 6 ¥27.0m | 31 ¥33k | 0 |
| 2024Q1 | 7 ¥22.0m | 16 ¥30.5m | 30 ¥44k | 0 |
| 2024Q2 | 3 ¥23.0m | 16 ¥22.5m | 31 ¥41k | 0 |
| 2024Q3 | 2 ¥62.0m | 17 ¥33.0m | 52 ¥12k | 0 |
| 2024Q4 | 7 ¥24.0m | 22 ¥29.5m | 32 ¥40k | 0 |
| 2025Q1 | 8 ¥20.5m | 18 ¥21.5m | 33 ¥12k | 0 |
| 2025Q2 | 6 ¥28.0m | 21 ¥36.0m | 23 ¥34k | 0 |
| 2025Q3 | 9 ¥23.0m | 12 ¥15.0m | 20 ¥27k | 0 |
| 2025Q4 | 5 ¥23.0m | 18 ¥28.5m | 15 ¥61k | 0 |
| 2026Q1 | 6 ¥23.5m | 10 ¥34.0m | 7 ¥49k | 0 |
Official land prices: the rises narrowed (2026)
Average changes as published by Kumamoto Prefecture. The three towns still rose, but by much less than a year earlier. Prefecture average in the July 2026 survey: all uses +1.3%, residential +0.8%.
Land Price Survey (基準地価, 1 July) 2024 → 2025 → 2026
| Town | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | +11.5% → +8.2% → +3.6% | +25.1% → +17.4% → +6.6% | +25.0% → +12.0% → +7.1% |
| Ozu | +10.8% → +6.8% → +4.0% | +31.5% → +13.7% → +5.1% | +33.3% → +29.7% → +22.9% |
| Koshi | +7.6% → +4.2% → +3.4% | +6.0% → +2.9% → +2.5% | +29.5% → +26.3% → +20.8% |
Land Price Publication (公示地価, 1 January) 2025 → 2026
| Town | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | +12.4% → +6.3% | +30.9% → +12.0% | — |
| Ozu | +11.3% → +5.6% | +24.0% → +8.9% | +33.3% → +26.0% |
| Koshi | +9.9% → +6.3% | +4.2% → +1.9% | — |
Sources: Kumamoto Prefecture, 2026 Land Price Survey · 2026 Land Price Publication (Japanese).
Levels, 2026 (medians)
Land Price Publication (1 January 2026):
| Area | Residential median | Residential change | Commercial median | Commercial change | Residential 5 yr median 2021→2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | ¥80,400/㎡ 8 pts | +6.3% prev. +12.4% | ¥140,000/㎡ 1 pts | +12.0% prev. +30.9% | +44.0% |
| Ozu | ¥46,500/㎡ 2 pts | +5.6% prev. +11.2% | ¥104,000/㎡ 1 pts | +8.9% prev. +24.0% | +41.2% |
| Koshi | ¥56,100/㎡ 6 pts | +6.3% prev. +9.8% | ¥106,000/㎡ 1 pts | +1.9% prev. +4.2% | +36.3% |
| Higashi ward | ¥78,000/㎡ 23 pts | +3.7% prev. +3.3% | ¥125,500/㎡ 6 pts | +5.1% prev. +6.0% | +12.9% |
| Kita ward | ¥54,200/㎡ 17 pts | +2.4% prev. +3.0% | ¥88,900/㎡ 4 pts | +3.2% prev. +2.4% | +9.3% |
| Chuo ward | ¥129,000/㎡ 23 pts | +5.9% prev. +5.0% | ¥290,500/㎡ 24 pts | +6.2% prev. +5.3% | +21.4% |
Land Price Survey (1 July 2026):
| Area | Residential median | Residential change | Commercial median | Commercial change | Residential 5 yr median 2021→2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | ¥83,500/㎡ 7 pts | +3.6% prev. +8.2% | ¥213,000/㎡ 3 pts | +6.6% prev. +17.4% | +49.8% |
| Ozu | ¥52,200/㎡ 5 pts | +4.0% prev. +6.8% | ¥106,000/㎡ 3 pts | +5.1% prev. +13.7% | +42.0% |
| Koshi | ¥58,000/㎡ 9 pts | +3.4% prev. +4.2% | ¥96,250/㎡ 2 pts | +2.5% prev. +2.8% | +38.0% |
| Higashi ward | ¥81,000/㎡ 20 pts | +3.3% prev. +3.3% | ¥132,000/㎡ 7 pts | +4.5% prev. +5.7% | +13.2% |
| Kita ward | ¥51,000/㎡ 19 pts | +1.3% prev. +1.6% | ¥58,000/㎡ 5 pts | +3.3% prev. +3.5% | +5.2% |
| Chuo ward | ¥134,000/㎡ 16 pts | +5.7% prev. +5.8% | ¥359,000/㎡ 19 pts | +5.9% prev. +5.9% | +25.5% |
Appraised bare-land values, not sale prices. Changes in these two tables are simple means of continuing points (our recalculation, same method as the prefecture); five-year = median change 2021→2026. Few points (Kikuyo has one commercial point in the January survey).
JASM (TSMC Kumamoto): dated facts
| Date | Fact |
|---|---|
| 2021-11-09 | TSMC announces a subsidiary, JASM, in Kumamoto Prefecture, with Sony as a minority shareholder. source: TSMC |
| 2024-02-06 | TSMC announces a second fab: construction to start by end-2024 and operation by end-2027 (the plan at the time); total JASM investment over US$20 billion. source: TSMC |
| 2024-02-24 | Opening ceremony of fab 1 (Kikuyo). source: TSMC |
| December 2024 | Fab 1 starts volume production (press report). source: press |
| October 2025 | Construction of fab 2 begins (TSMC earnings call, 16 October 2025); siting agreement with Kikuyo town on 24 October (press report). source: press |
| February 2026 | TSMC chairman C.C. Wei tells Prime Minister Takaichi that fab 2 will switch to 3 nm (press report). source: press |
| 2026-04-16 | TSMC 1Q26 earnings call: “In Japan, we now plan to utilize 3-nanometer technology in our second fab and volume production is scheduled in 2028.” source: TSMC transcript |
Fab 2 volume production: 2028 per TSMC's 16 April 2026 earnings call (official transcript); Taiwanese reports in September 2026 say “operation in 2029” (ETtoday, China Times). They differ; we do not pick one. None of these facts is used here as a reason to expect higher prices.
Population (official)
| Town | 2020 | 2026 | Change | Households 2020→2026 | Vacancy 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyo | 43,337 | 44,954 | +3.7% | 17,794 → 20,199 | 6.7% |
| Ozu | 35,187 | 36,716 | +4.3% | 14,165 → 16,856 | 8.0% |
| Koshi | 61,772 | 64,537 | +4.5% | 22,283 → 24,713 | 7.6% |
Population: Kumamoto Prefecture estimates (2020 census; other years 1 August). Vacancy: 2023 Housing and Land Survey, 1 October 2023 (prefecture PDF); Kumamoto City 13.2%, prefecture 14.9%. Measured before the 2024–25 wave of new rental apartments.
Before buying in Kumamoto
- Foreigners can buy freehold land and buildings; buying does not give a visa. From 5 October 2026 individuals registering as owners must declare their nationality — see the foreign ownership rules tracker.
- Mortgages for non-residents are scarce: Japan mortgages for foreigners. Budget roughly 6–10% on top of the price: tax & cost calculator.
- Many rental apartments were built near the fab in 2024–25; there is no published vacancy rate for them. See Is Kumamoto a ghost town? What the reports say and what the public data shows. Kumamoto had a major earthquake in 2016; check building age and the owner checklist 2026.
Read this before relying on the numbers
- Closed prices and the buyer survey are never pooled. Houses and condos use closed prices (2021+); land and the long view use the survey, labelled.
- Mix effects. A median moves when the mix of what sold changes (e.g. more new builds). Not a repeat-sales index.
- Latest quarter (2026 Q1) can still gain records; level figures use full-year 2025.
- Currencies use one rate for every period, so trends are yen trends. Past prices do not predict future prices.
Local agents in this area (not affiliated)
- Pacific House / 太平洋房屋 Kyushu franchise (太平洋不動産株式会社), Chuo ward: Traditional Chinese site and LINE; listings mostly houses and land in Koshi, Ozu and Kikuyo
- Kyomoto (京本株式会社), Chuo ward and Koshi: Taiwan-born president; builds and sells new houses in Ozu, Kikuyo and Koshi; Traditional Chinese site
- Anesis / Kumamoto Mirai (株式会社アネシス), Higashi ward and Taipei: local house builder and land seller with a Taipei company; Traditional Chinese buying guides
Names taken from the companies' own public websites, so you can see who is active locally. We have no agreement with any of them, this is not a recommendation, and we have not checked their licences on MLIT's register. These three work mainly in Japanese and Traditional Chinese; for English, use the form below.
Source: MLIT Real Estate Information Library (processed by Japan House Prices). https://www.reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/ — 出典：国土交通省 不動産情報ライブラリ（https://www.reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/）のデータを加工して作成. Original content: contract prices (成約価格情報) and transaction prices (不動産取引価格情報), Kikuyo (43404), Ozu (43403), Koshi (43216) and Kumamoto City Chuo, Higashi and Kita wards (43101, 43102, 43105), 2015Q1–2026Q1. Related-party deals, auctions/mediation and adjoining-land purchases excluded. We filtered, grouped and took medians; the figures are our own and are not published or endorsed by MLIT (国土交通省).
Land prices: 「国土数値情報（地価公示データ）」（国土交通省）（https://nlftp.mlit.go.jp/ksj/gml/datalist/KsjTmplt-L01-2026.html）を加工して作成 · 「国土数値情報（都道府県地価調査データ）」（国土交通省）（https://nlftp.mlit.go.jp/ksj/gml/datalist/KsjTmplt-L02-2026.html）を加工して作成 (CC BY 4.0); town changes as published by Kumamoto Prefecture.
Exchange rates: ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates of 2026-09-25; TWD: U.S. Federal Reserve H.10 via FRED, 2026-09-18. This page is not a valuation, an offer of property, or investment advice. Last reviewed 2026-09.
We are not a real estate broker; we introduce you to licensed Japanese brokers (宅地建物取引業者), who handle all property explanations and negotiations. Brokers may pay us a referral fee; buyers pay us nothing.
Thinking of buying in Kumamoto?
We can introduce you to licensed local brokers who work with overseas buyers. We are not a real estate broker; we introduce you to licensed Japanese brokers. We don't describe, recommend or negotiate properties, and we don't charge buyers. Brokers may pay us a referral fee.
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This page in Traditional Chinese: 熊本房價（台灣繁體・新台幣/坪）. Explainer: Is Kumamoto a ghost town? What the reports say and what the public data shows.
Other cities: Fukuoka · Sapporo · Chitose & Eniwa (Rapidus) · Central Tokyo.