A survey says studio apartment rents in central Tokyo rose more than 10 percent in August. The increase is attributed to strong demand in convenient locations and owners passing on higher maintenance costs.
The survey by a unit of the At Home data platform shows the average rent for a studio topped 100,000 yen for the fourth month in a row to 103,952 yen. That’s about 690 dollars for a unit of 30 square meters or less.
The yen figure is up 10.6 percent from a year earlier and the highest since the survey started in 2015.
The average rent for family units of 50 to 70 square meters rose 9.7 percent to 247,375 yen, or 1,640 dollars. That’s also a record-high for the survey.
“Higher costs of construction and maintenance are a key factor behind the rise in rents,” says Iwasaki Junko of At Home Lab that ran the survey.
She says companies are putting more emphasis on working from the office, so people are looking for rental accommodation in areas with easy access to business districts.
Iwasaki adds that people are also opting for rental units for the time being, because of the jump in sale prices for new and second-hand apartments.
AloJapan.com