The average sale price of a newly built apartment in the Tokyo metropolitan area rose to an all-time high of 143.6 million yen ($1.07 million) in March, according to data published on Tuesday and cited by Reuters and Agerpres.

That estimate, which is double the figure for the same month last year and is also the highest recorded since statistics began in 1973, was driven by sales of ultra-exclusive apartments in central Tokyo, Real Estate said. economic institute.

The data released on Tuesday also marked another first, when the average sales price in the Japanese capital’s metropolitan area broke the psychological threshold of 100 million yen for the first time.

Of the 2,439 units listed on the market in March, 9.1% sold the same day they were listed, according to the Real Estate Economic Institute.

The high cost of living, especially when it comes to buying a home, is considered one of the main reasons why many Japanese give up on the idea of ​​starting a family, and some of them even give up on married life and choose to live alone.

Japan is trying to use its “last chance” in the fight against demographic decline

Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised family benefits and parental leave benefits as part of a new package of measures he called a “last chance” to try to halt Japan’s sharp population decline.

Almost 30% of Japan’s 125 million residents are over 65, a world record after Monaco.

According to government data released in late February, the number of births in the island nation fell below the 800,000 mark in 2022, a new low since records began in 1899 and almost half what it was 40 years ago.

Young people in South Korea face similar problems with the cost of living and exorbitant housing prices.