"Loans? We Pay All Cash": 60% of Buyers Show Massive Financial Power in Japan's Penthouse Market

Comprehensive Survey of Top-Floor Tower Mansions in Central Tokyo and Osaka
Surge in Real Estate Prices Accelerated by Wealthy and Foreign Capital
60% of 1,867 Penthouses Purchased Entirely with Cash

More than half of the buyers of penthouses in high-rise apartments (tower mansions) in central Tokyo and Osaka have purchased their homes entirely with cash, without taking out loans.

Cityscape of Tokyo, Japan. Pixabay

According to a report by Yonhap News on June 22, citing the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), Nikkei conducted a comprehensive review of the official registry for 303 high-rise apartment buildings in central Tokyo and Osaka, finding that approximately 60% of penthouse units were purchased outright with cash. The intense competition for these most expensive top-floor residences is seen as a factor driving rapid increases in real estate prices.

The proportion of cash purchases varied by region. Among the six central wards of Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward had the highest rate at 69%, followed by Minato Ward at 60%. Shinjuku and Shibuya wards each recorded 59%. In Osaka, Chuo and Kita wards each exceeded half at 53%, while Nishi Ward recorded 50%.

The price tags of these top-floor residences are extraordinary. The penthouse on the top floor of Aman Residence Tokyo, a premium residential building in Azabudai Hills, Minato Ward, Tokyo, reportedly sold for over 20 billion yen (approximately KRW 190 billion), setting the highest sales price ever recorded for a residential property in Japan. Unique features such as an entire floor dedicated to a single household are adding rarity and attracting investment capital.

Interior view of Aman Residence Tokyo. Official website

The Japanese real estate market underpinning these penthouses has been rising sharply. According to the Japan Real Estate Institute, the average price of newly built condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards in 2025 reached 136.13 million yen (about KRW 1.29 billion), marking a 21.8% surge over the previous year and setting a record high for the third consecutive year. In particular, the average price in the six central wards rose 20.2% to 195.03 million yen (about KRW 1.85 billion), approaching the levels seen during the peak of the bubble economy in 1990. This is attributed to rising construction material and labor costs, reduced supply, and the additional impact of a weaker yen.

Penthouse buyers cite their ample financial resources as the reason for purchasing with cash. Emiko Shibamura, 70, who runs a health food sales company, stated that she bought the top floor of a 48-story tower mansion in central Osaka more than a decade ago. Shibamura told Nikkei, "Since I had sufficient cash, there was no reason to choose a loan with interest."

Nikkei explained, "For wealthy individuals with strong financial power, cash purchases are more advantageous because they avoid paying interest or fees. Cash is also preferred for quickly acquiring rare real estate."

Meanwhile, among the 1,867 penthouse units surveyed, 100 units, or 5%, were owned by overseas residents. Of these, Chinese residents owned 47 units, the most among foreign owners, followed by 16 owned by Taiwanese nationals and 11 by Singaporeans. Nikkei noted, "If cases where properties are registered under Japanese corporate names but are actually owned by foreigners are included, the proportion of foreign ownership could be even higher."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.