Buying a House in Fukuoka: Prices, Wards and Process

What a home in Fukuoka actually costs in 2026

Fukuoka is the cheapest of Japan's five big metropolitan markets, and the gap with Tokyo is measured in multiples rather than percentages. On 1 August 2026, the average asking price for a 70 m² second-hand apartment ran from ¥23,920,000 (about €147,700) in Minami ward to ¥38,110,000 (about €235,200) in Chuo ward, according to the LIFULL HOME'S listings survey. Over the same period, a square metre of second-hand apartment actually sold in Tokyo's 23 wards traded at ¥1,361,000 (€8,401). Put differently, a Tokyo studio of 25 m² costs what a Fukuoka family flat costs.

What the official statistics say

The only uncontestable measure is the koji chika (公示地価, official land price), published each March by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, based on values as of 1 January. The 2026 edition puts Fukuoka in an unusual position: a strong rise that is already slowing.

Official 2026 indicator	Fukuoka city	Fukuoka prefecture
Residential land, average price	¥258,100 per m2 (€1,593)	not published at this level
Residential land, change	+7.0 % (14th annual rise)	+3.7 % (12th rise)
National ranking, residential	2nd prefectural capital, behind Tokyo	4th prefecture
Commercial land, average price	¥1,634,800 per m2 (€10,091)	not published at this level
Commercial land, change	+9.0 % (14th rise)	+5.2 % (11th rise)
Survey points	291 (195 residential)	918

Two of those figures matter to a foreign buyer. First, Fukuoka lost in 2026 the national top spot it had held for two consecutive years on residential land, not because prices fell but because the rise decelerated from +9.0 % to +7.0 %. Second, its commercial land is worth 65.8 % of its 1992 peak. Thirty-four years after the bubble, the city has still not recovered those levels, which is the exact opposite of an overheated market. The mechanism behind that long convalescence is explained in our piece on the Japanese property bubble of 1991.

New build and resale are two different markets

New-build prices in Fukuoka spiked in a way the resale market never followed: the average price of a new apartment sold in the city reached ¥55,980,000 (€345,600) in 2024, up 40.1 % in a year, pulled up by a handful of very high-end schemes in Chuo. For comparison, the new-build average across Tokyo's 23 wards stood at ¥136,130,000 (€840,300) in 2025. A new Fukuoka apartment therefore remains far cheaper than the Tokyo median, yet it already costs close to double an equivalent resale unit in the same city. For a buyer coming from abroad, value almost always sits in the resale market, as our comparison of new versus second-hand property in Japan shows.

Know which number you are reading

The ward averages quoted above are asking prices taken from online listings, not signed sale prices. In a tight market like Fukuoka the gap is small, but it exists, especially on a property that has sat in the window for months. Registered transactions are published free of charge on the ministry's public portal, and that database is what we use to score the properties in our Fukuoka prefecture listings. For the general method of reading Japanese prices, see how much a house costs in Japan.

The seven wards, read through their prices

Fukuoka is divided into seven wards, called ku. Unlike Tokyo, they form a compact whole: crossing the city rarely takes more than thirty minutes by subway. The price difference therefore does not pay for distance from the centre, as it does in Tokyo. It pays for subway access, a view over the bay, and the school catchment.

Area	70 m2 apartment, asking price (1 Aug 2026)	Equivalent	Character
Chuo ward	¥38.11 M	€235,200	Tenjin, Ohori, Akasaka: business core and city park, the most sought after
Sawara ward	¥32.83 M	€202,700	Nishijin, Momochi: families, strong schools, seafront
Hakata ward	¥31.99 M	€197,500	Hakata station, port, airport: maximum mobility, urban feel
Higashi ward	¥27.04 M	€166,900	Kashii, Island City: large, residential, densifying
Nishi ward	¥25.87 M	€159,700	Meinohama, Imajuku: coastal, detached houses, gateway to Itoshima
Jonan ward	¥24.28 M	€149,900	Nanakuma line, universities: quiet, suburban, best price per commute minute
Minami ward	¥23.92 M	€147,700	Ohashi, Takamiya: the cheapest of the seven, strongly residential
Kasuga (outside the city)	¥34.70 M	€214,200	Family suburb, thin market and therefore expensive per m2
Kurume	¥18.06 M	€111,500	Second city of the prefecture, 35 minutes from Hakata by fast train
Kitakyushu, Kokura-Kita	¥12.76 M	€78,800	Former industrial city: the lowest entry price in the prefecture

What the map of increases really tells you

The 2026 official land survey names the rising areas with unusual precision, and they are not the most expensive ones. The ten largest residential land increases in the prefecture are all inside Fukuoka city, led by Ohori in Chuo ward at +13.7 %. Beyond that point, every area above +11 % shares one feature: it sits on a subway line. Two axes carry the movement:

• the Kuko line (空港線, airport line), linking the airport to Hakata and then Tenjin: Ohori in Chuo ward, Meinohama in Nishi ward;
• the Nanakuma line (七隈線), extended to Hakata station, which opened up the whole south-west: Jiromaru in Sawara ward, Arae in Jonan ward, Hashimoto in Nishi ward.

This is the single most actionable lesson of the article: in Fukuoka, value follows the subway line, not the prestige of the district. A house ten minutes' walk from a Nanakuma line station appreciated faster in 2026 than a smart apartment with poor transport. The same rule applies nationwide, as our analysis of buying near a station shows.

Do not confuse the city with the prefecture

Fukuoka prefecture has five million inhabitants and two distinct markets. Fukuoka city is rising at 7.0 % a year; the rest of the prefecture, including Kitakyushu and Kurume, rises at 3.7 % and entry prices are three times lower. The same ¥15,000,000 buys an ageing apartment in Minami ward or a detached house with land in Kurume. Both markets meet in our catalogue of akiya and Japanese houses, where the prefecture filter lets you compare them side by side. The investment angle for the city is covered separately in investing in Fukuoka.

What your budget actually buys

Averages only set the frame. Here is what a foreign buyer genuinely finds on the Fukuoka market, band by band, and the trade-off each level imposes.

Under ¥10 million (€62,000)

Inside Fukuoka city this band barely exists, except for an old studio under 25 m² or a 1970s walk-up. Across the prefecture, however, it opens onto complete detached houses in Kurume, Omuta or the inland valleys, often akiya (vacant house). The real issue is not the price but the transport: beyond twenty to thirty minutes from a station and shops, reselling becomes very hard. Our selection of Japanese houses under €100,000 shows concretely what this band covers.

¥10 to 25 million (€62,000 to €154,000)

This is the most interesting band for a first purchase. In the city it buys a one or two bedroom resale apartment in Minami, Jonan or Higashi ward, usually built between 1985 and 2005, ten minutes' walk from the subway. On the immediate fringe it buys a detached house with a small garden. It is also the level at which technical due diligence becomes decisive: a building permitted before June 1981 falls under the old seismic code, a point detailed in our article on Japan's 1981 seismic standard.

¥25 to 40 million (€154,000 to €247,000)

The heart of the market. A well-located 70 m² three or four room apartment in Sawara or Hakata ward, or a recent detached house in the second ring. At this level you are no longer buying a compromise: the apartment meets current standards, it is well served, and it re-lets without difficulty. This is the band most foreign buyers target when they want a place that is both usable and resaleable.

¥40 to 60 million (€247,000 to €370,000)

Chuo ward becomes reachable: a family apartment near Ohori park, or a new-build unit on the fringe. It is also the entry level for a newly built detached house on a decent plot inside the city itself.

Above ¥60 million (€370,000)

The top of the Fukuoka market: recent towers in Chuo ward, the Momochi seafront, architect-designed houses. This segment single-handedly drove the 2024 new-build spike. It is also the most exposed to a downturn, because it depends on investors rather than on owner occupiers.

House or apartment?

The trade-off is sharper in Fukuoka than elsewhere, for a physical reason: the city is flat, the airport sits five minutes from the centre, and aviation rules cap building heights across large parts of the city. As a result the low-rise fabric survives quite close to the core, and a detached house (kodate, 戸建) is not confined to the distant suburbs.

Criterion	Apartment (manshon)	Detached house (kodate)
Entry ticket in the city	From about ¥15 M	From about ¥25 M
Monthly charges	¥15,000 to ¥30,000 (management plus sinking fund)	None, but you must self-fund maintenance
Share of land in the value	Small and undivided	Dominant: the land holds the value
Remote management	Simple: the building association handles the structure	Requires a local manager
Short-term letting	Often banned by the building rules	Possible, subject to conditions

The third row is the decisive one. In Japan a wooden house is depreciated for tax purposes to almost nothing over twenty-two years, while the land keeps its value: that is the mechanism explained in why Japanese houses lose value. An old Fukuoka apartment is therefore an asset that slowly melts; a house on well-served land is a land asset. The specifics of Japanese condominium ownership are covered in buying an apartment in Japan.

Why Fukuoka is rising, and what that means for a buyer

Fukuoka is the only major Japanese market whose demography works in favour of property. The 2025 census recorded 1,663,892 residents, up 3.2 % in five years: the highest growth rate of the twenty government-designated cities. In a country losing population every year, that is an anomaly, and it has identifiable causes.

The four engines

• Compactness. The international airport is five subway minutes from Hakata station, which no other Japanese metropolis offers. Seoul, Shanghai and Taipei are two hours away by air.
• Renewal of the centre. The municipal Tenjin Big Bang (天神ビッグバン) programme, which grants height and density waivers in exchange for buildings rebuilt to current standards, has had its completion deadline pushed to the end of December 2026. Its counterpart around the station, Hakata Connected (博多コネクティッド), counted 35 buildings filing for permits between January 2019 and the end of March 2026.
• Youth. Fukuoka has one of the lowest ageing rates among Japan's large cities, which supports both rental demand and local retail.
• Special zone status. The city is designated a kokka senryaku tokku (national strategic special zone) for entrepreneurship, with an English-language company formation desk.

What those engines do not guarantee

A buyer should read this with the same rigour a seller would apply. Three caveats, all measured rather than merely prudent:

1. The rise is already slowing. Residential land moved from +9.0 % to +7.0 %, commercial land from +11.3 % to +9.0 %. Population growth is largely priced in.
2. The cost of money has changed. The central bank raised its policy rate to 0.75 % in December 2025, its highest in roughly thirty years. In August 2026 the average variable mortgage rate in Japan sat near 1.08 % and the long fixed rate near 3.29 %. A market built entirely on near-zero rates now has to absorb their return.
3. The turn has already begun elsewhere. In May 2026, the price per square metre of resale apartments sold across greater Tokyo fell 3.9 % year on year: the first decline in 73 months. Fukuoka has not followed so far, but no Japanese city has ever diverged from the capital for long.

The practical conclusion is not to walk away. It is to avoid buying on a capital-gain bet. A Fukuoka purchase is justified by its use, its rent and its low entry price; appreciation is a bonus, not the thesis. The national picture is set out in Japanese property prices in 2026 and the demographic background in Japan's demography and property.

Buying from abroad, step by step

Nothing in Japanese law prevents a foreigner from buying in Fukuoka: ownership is freehold and perpetual, with no prior authorisation, no residence condition and no nationality requirement. That point is developed in can a foreigner buy a house in Japan without a visa. The purchase, however, grants no right of residence: owning a home in Fukuoka delivers no visa, no status of residence, and no advantage in obtaining one.

Step	What happens	Typical time
1. Framing	Total budget, ward, intended use (home, long let, resale)	1 to 2 weeks
2. Selection	Shortlisting, checking asking prices against registered transactions	2 to 6 weeks
3. Viewing	Naiken (property viewing), in person or by video call with a trusted third party	A few days
4. Offer	Kaitsuke moshikomisho (letter of intent), non-binding	1 to 3 days
5. Legal briefing	Juyo jiko setsumei (explanation of important matters), mandatory, may be held remotely	1 week
6. Contract	Signature and deposit, usually 5 to 10 % of the price	Same day
7. Settlement	Kessai (settlement): balance wired, keys handed over, title registered	3 to 6 weeks after contract
8. Aftermath	Acquisition tax notice, letting or management set-up	3 to 6 months

The three things that genuinely block a non-resident buyer

Financing. This is the first wall. Japanese banks reserve mortgages in practice for people living and employed in Japan, with tenure and a stable status of residence. A non-resident therefore buys in cash. The rare workable structures are reviewed in mortgages in Japan for foreigners and in financing a Japanese purchase from abroad. That constraint has one welcome consequence: Fukuoka's budget, two to three times below Tokyo's, puts a cash purchase within reach of an ordinary balance sheet.

Signing remotely. Japan has no notary in a property sale: the shiho shoshi (judicial scrivener) checks title and registers the transfer. An absent buyer signs through a power of attorney (ininjo) accompanied by a signature certificate issued by their consulate, which stands in for the Japanese registered seal. The mandatory legal briefing can be held by video call.

The transfer. The balance leaves your foreign account on settlement day, which means anticipating your bank's ceiling, the currency cost and the value date. Allow two working days of margin: a Japanese settlement does not move. How to organise all of this remotely, viewing included, is detailed in viewing a Japanese property remotely and in the explanation of important matters. If you would rather delegate the whole chain, our buyer representation service runs from pre-offer checks to handover of the keys.

Total budget: fees, annual taxes and a worked example

In Japan, purchase costs (shohiyo) never exceed 6 % of the price, and often less on expensive property, because several taxes are computed on the assessed value rather than on the price paid. That is markedly lower than in most European markets. The line-by-line detail is in purchase costs for Japanese property.

Worked example: a ¥35 million house in Sawara ward

Take a detached house of 95 m² of floor area on a 110 m² plot, built in 2004, twelve minutes' walk from a Nanakuma line station, asking ¥35,000,000 (€216,049). The city's assessed value is around ¥15,000,000, split ¥8,000,000 for the land and ¥7,000,000 for the building, which is the usual order of magnitude on this kind of property.

Item	Amount	Equivalent	Basis
Purchase price	¥35,000,000	€216,049	Asking price
Agency commission	¥1,221,000	€7,537	3 % plus ¥60,000, plus 10 % tax
Acquisition tax	¥330,000	€2,037	3 % of assessed value, land halved
Registration tax	¥300,000	€1,852	2 % of assessed value
Shiho shoshi fees	¥130,000	€802	Fixed fee
Stamp duty	¥10,000	€62	Band for contracts of ¥10 to 50 M
Property tax apportionment	¥70,000	€432	Pro rata to completion date
Total costs	¥2,061,000	€12,722	5.9 % of the price
Total cash out	¥37,061,000	€228,771	Price plus costs

What the same house costs every year

Holding costs are counted separately. On the same house:

• Property tax and city planning tax: about ¥150,000 (€926) a year, after the five-sixths reduction applied to residential land below 200 m². The mechanism is explained in Japanese property tax.
• Fire and earthquake insurance: about ¥40,000 (€247) a year. Fukuoka prefecture sits in one of the country's lowest earthquake premium bands, which is not a trivial line in the budget.
• Letting management: 5 % of rent collected.
• Maintenance provision: ¥100,000 (€617) a year, never to be skipped on a wooden house.

Let at ¥105,000 a month, or ¥1,260,000 (€7,778) a year, this house yields 3.4 % gross on the real cash outlay and roughly 2.4 % net before tax once charges are deducted. That is not spectacular, and that is precisely why it is worth computing before you buy rather than after. You can rerun the case with your own numbers in our rental yield simulator. The tax treatment of a non-resident landlord, including the 20.42 % withholding that applies in certain cases, is covered in tax on Japanese rental income for non-residents.

Letting in Fukuoka: long lets, students or short stays

Fukuoka is one of the few Japanese cities where all three letting strategies genuinely work, because demand comes from three separate populations.

Long-term letting

This is the base case. The city concentrates a large student and young working population, and the standard Japanese lease (futsu shakuya keiyaku) renews automatically in the tenant's favour, which produces long tenancies and low vacancy. The flip side: an ordinary lease is very hard for a landlord to terminate. If you expect to recover the property one day, insist on a fixed-term lease (teiki shakuya) and have it drafted properly.

Student letting

The universities in the south-west of the city, along the Nanakuma line, generate steady demand for studios and one-bedroom units. This is where the smaller budgets of Jonan and Sawara wards find their use, with a predictable annual turnover each March.

Short-term letting

Fukuoka rides a record tourism wave: Japan welcomed 42.7 million visitors in 2025, and the city captures a large share thanks to its proximity to Korea, China and Taiwan, and to its cruise terminal. Two regimes coexist:

• minpaku (short-term letting in a dwelling), governed by the jutaku shukuhaku jigyo-ho (Private Lodging Business Act), which allows a maximum of 180 nights a year on simple notification;
• kan'i shukusho (simple lodging), licensed under the ryokan gyo-ho (Hotel Business Act), with no night cap but far heavier safety and layout requirements.

Fukuoka applies no seasonal restriction comparable to Kyoto's, which makes it one of the more workable big Japanese cities for short stays. Three caveats sink projects every year, though: an apartment's building rules very often ban the activity whatever the law allows; areas zoned shigaika chosei kuiki (urbanisation control area) impose extra conditions; and the 180-night cap applies to the dwelling rather than the operator, which mechanically caps revenue. The full calculation is in the minpaku licence and its 180 days, and remote operation in managing a Japanese rental from abroad.

Common mistakes when buying in Fukuoka

1. Buying the city instead of the subway line. This is mistake number one. Fukuoka rises at +7.0 %, but it is the areas along the Kuko and Nanakuma lines that post +11 % and more. A property fifteen bus minutes from a station belongs to a different market, slower to rise and far slower to resell.
2. Taking the asking price for the market price. The averages quoted everywhere, including in this article, are listing prices. Always check a specific property against the transactions actually registered with the ministry before making an offer.
3. Forgetting the 1981 seismic standard. A building permitted before June 1981 falls under the old code. It trades cheaper for good reason, and it is harder both to resell and to insure.
4. Underestimating the charges of an older condominium. An underfunded sinking fund sooner or later means a large special levy. Ask for the minutes of the last three general meetings and the state of the fund: see Japanese condominium charges.
5. Ignoring flood risk. Fukuoka is a river-crossed plain, regularly exposed to the torrential rains of June and July and to typhoons. The city's hazard map is public and should be consulted before the offer, not after: see natural hazards and Japanese property.
6. Counting on a Japanese mortgage. A non-resident has no practical access to one. Building a financing plan that assumes a local loan means the deal collapses at settlement.
7. Believing that buying opens a right of residence. It opens none. The real routes are a business visa or employment, described in the business manager visa.
8. Buying land without checking the height limit. Airport proximity imposes height restrictions across large parts of the city. A plan to add a storey or rebuild may be impossible there, and the listing will never say so.

In summary: buying in Fukuoka with your eyes open

Fukuoka combines something that exists nowhere else in Japan: a population up 3.2 % in five years, the fastest growth of the country's twenty largest cities, and prices that remain two to three times below Tokyo's. A 70 m² family apartment is advertised between ¥24 and ¥38 million depending on the ward, a decent detached house starts around ¥25 million, and purchase costs stay under 6 % of the price.

Three rules are enough to make the operation safe. Buy along a subway line, the Kuko or the Nanakuma: that is where value was created in 2026, not in the prestige districts. Plan for a cash purchase, because Japanese mortgage credit remains closed to non-residents. And do not base the decision on capital gains: the rise is already slowing, the policy rate is climbing, and the Tokyo market recorded its first decline in 73 months in spring 2026. A purchase that stands on its rent and its use will stand in any scenario.

To go further: our guide to buying property in Japan covers the full procedure, our Fukuoka prefecture page shows the properties we track on the ground, and buying a house in Osaka lets you compare the two main gateways to western Japan.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy a house in Fukuoka?

Yes, without restriction. Japanese law imposes no nationality or residence condition on acquiring real estate, and ownership is freehold and perpetual. No prior authorisation is required, including for a buyer who has never set foot in Japan.

How much does a house in Fukuoka cost in 2026?

Budget ¥24 to 38 million (€148,000 to €235,000) for a 70 m² resale apartment depending on the ward, as surveyed on 1 August 2026, and from ¥25 million (€154,000) for a detached house inside the city. Elsewhere in the prefecture, in Kurume or Kitakyushu, prices fall to ¥13 to 18 million.

Which ward is best for buying in Fukuoka?

It depends on your use. Chuo ward for value and liquidity, Sawara ward for family living, Hakata ward for mobility and short stays, Jonan and Minami wards for the best price per commute minute. In every case, favour an address within a ten minute walk of a subway station.

Can you get a Japanese mortgage to buy in Fukuoka?

In practice no, unless you live and work in Japan. Japanese banks require a stable status of residence, local employment tenure and income taxed in Japan. A non-resident buyer therefore pays cash, which Fukuoka's price level makes achievable.

Does buying property in Fukuoka give you a visa?

No. Property ownership grants no right of residence in Japan, and there is no Japanese golden visa. The real routes run through employment, a business manager visa or a family tie, entirely independently of any purchase.

What are the purchase costs in Fukuoka?

At most 6 % of the price, all items included. On a ¥35 million house the total comes to around ¥2.06 million, or 5.9 %: agency commission, acquisition tax, registration tax, judicial scrivener fees, stamp duty and the property tax apportionment.

Can you run a short-term rental in Fukuoka?

Yes, and the city is more permissive than Kyoto. A minpaku notification allows 180 nights a year, while a simple lodging licence allows more but imposes heavier standards. Check the building rules first: most condominiums ban the activity outright.

Is Fukuoka cheaper than Tokyo and Osaka?

Substantially. A square metre of resale apartment sold in Tokyo's 23 wards exceeded ¥1,361,000 in March 2026, whereas a 70 m² Fukuoka unit was advertised around ¥32 million across all areas, roughly ¥460,000 per square metre.