Average Cost to Buy a Condominium in Osaka

We provide average cost estimates for an Osaka condo purchase, including fees and taxes.

As a service to our clients that want to buy a home in Osaka, we share research on the average cost to buy a condominium in Osaka City (condos are called “mansions” in Japan). We’ll show the average purchase price for a condo in one of Osaka’s better neighborhoods, and each of the additional costs associated with completion of the purchase of your Osaka “mansion.”

We’ll start by giving you the total cost (all included), and then we’ll break down the individual costs, fees, and taxes below.

What is the Average Cost to Buy an Osaka Condo (all expenses included)?

According to our internal research here at OsakaAgents.com, we estimate:

AVERAGE COST FOR A CONDOMINIUM IN OSAKA: 97,504,000 JPY (or $606,000 USD), including all fees and taxes

That number is based on the average price for a central neighborhood, but not the most desirably neighborhoods. It includes the agent fee, taxes, and more – including the real estate acquisition tax (which arrives several months after the purchase).

Average Asking Price for Osaka Condos, by Neighborhood

Here at OsakaAgents.com, we provide detailed real estate cost data for each neighborhood in Osaka. For this summary, we looked at condominium prices in the six most-central wards in Osaka:

Average Price for a 2LDK Condo in Osaka’s Central Wards

— Chuo-ku Osaka condo price: 140,000,000 JPY
— Kita-ku Osaka condo price: 168,900,000 JPY
— Nishi-ku Osaka condo price: 126,040,000 JPY
— Naniwa-ku Osaka condo price: 82,210,000 JPY
— Tennoji-ku Osaka condo price: 74,940,000 JPY
— Fukushima-ku Osaka condo price: 74,830,000 JPY
== Average condo price for six central Osaka wards: 111,153,000 JPY
== Average condo price in Osaka excluding Chuo/Kita-ku: 89,505,000 JPY

Because the condominiums in Chuo-ku and Kita-ku are so much more expensive than the other neighborhoods, we removed those neighborhoods, and created an average for the four remaining central wards.

FOR THIS ESTIMATE: We assume an average price to buy a condominium to be 89,505,000 JPY (~$556,000 USD)

You’ll notice that is lower than the number we gave in our summary above; 89,505,000 JPY is just the price for the property. Below we’ll show our breakdown for each additional cost, tax, and fee to buy an Osaka condo.

Individual Costs, Fees, and Taxes as You Buy a Condo in Osaka

Now we’ll show itemized cost to purchase an Osaka condominium, with percentages (based on the average condo price we calculated above). We begin with the average sale price for a 2LDK condo, and then provide estimates for each of the other expenses.

— Average purchase price 89,505,000 JPY
— Real estate agent fee 3,019,665 JPY (3.37%)
— Stamp duty estimage 50,000 JPY (0.06%)
— Registration tax 1,018,119 JPY (1.14%)
— Judicial scrivener 120,000 JPY (0.13%

== Average purchase price 89,505,000 JPY
== SUBTOTAL of fees/taxes 4,207,784 JPY (4.7%)
— Wire/currency exchange fee 637,247 JPY (0.71%)

TOTAL at closing: 94,350,031 JPY

These numbers provide an estimate of the total funds required at closing to complete the purchase of a condominium. That does not include real estate acquisition tax, which arrives later (and is often a surprise for foreign home buyers in Japan).

== SUBTOTAL from closing 94,350,031 JPY
— Real estate acquisition tax 3,132,675 JPY (3.50%)
— Wire/currency exchange fee 21,302 JPY (0.68%)

TOTAL include real estate acquisition tax: 97,504,000 JPY

These numbers are estimates, but should provide foreigners that want to buy Osaka condos with a structure for what costs to expect, and when those costs are paid. We are even including the international wire transfer/currency exchange costs (an extra expense locals don’t have to pay).

See our related article for more information on international wire transfer fees for real estate in Japan.

Taxes Related to Buying or Owning a Condo in Osaka

There are some taxes that are paid at closing (like the stamp tax and the registration tax), and some that are paid months after the condominium is purchased.

The totals above do not include property taxes. If the seller has already paid the property taxes for that year, there might be some prorated property taxes included as an expense during closing. Typically, sometime in April, a new property tax bill will be delivered to the mailing address. See our article for more on property taxes in Japan.

That real estate acquisition tax in Japan is like a sales tax, and that bill is mailed to whatever mailing address is listed on the title during closing (typically a domestic address in Japan). Most cities will not mail those statements outside of Japan.

For foreigners that live outside of Japan that want help receiving bills and mail for property in Japan, we can provide domestic contact for real estate and bill pay services in Osaka.

Local Osaka Agents Show You Osaka Condos for Sale

The fees and taxes can be painful, but going to visit the condominiums in person is often the fun part of the process of buying a new home. While you can find many condominiums for sale in Osaka listed online, we highly recommend that you get your own agent, and let that agent make recommendations, show you more options (including listing that are only available on REINs – the Japanese multiple listing service, available to agents only), and even help you negotiate a better purchase price for your condo.

When you’re ready to talk to a local Osaka real estate agent, contact us for a free, personal introduction.