Karuizawa Housing Market 2026: Japan's Second-Home Capital
Data updated 2026-11-11 · Source: MLIT transaction price survey, 2005 Q3–2026 Q2 · Transactions in 2025: 313
In short
- 1Seven in ten homes are second homes
Karuizawa is a mountain resort town about an hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen.
- 2House prices have doubled
The median house sold for about ¥46M in 2025, against ¥28M in 2015.
- 3Land is booming
Benchmark residential land rose 12.1% in the past year and 125% over ten years, the third biggest ten-year rise of any city or town in Japan, after central Nagoya and Fukuoka's Hakata Ward.
The answers, compared
What does a home cost?
¥46.0M
median house · ¥408k/m²
3.3× the Nagano median
1 of 22 areas in Nagano, highest first
Are prices rising?
+94.7%
over 5 years
Faster than Nagano (+19.2%)
3 of 28 areas in Nagano, highest first
Can local earners afford it?
8.1× income
median price ÷ average taxable income
Harder than Nagano (7.0×)
2 of 24 areas in Nagano, highest first
Rent or buy?
66years of rent
median price ÷ a year of median rent
Longer than Nagano (41)
1 of 22 areas in Nagano, highest first
Are people moving in?
-3.8%
population, 2020–25
Shrinking slower than Nagano (-4.5%)
14 of 30 areas in Nagano, highest first
How risky is it?
1%
chance of strong shaking (6-lower+) in 30 years
Lower than Nagano (20%)
30 of 30 areas in Nagano, highest first
Seven in ten homes are second homes
Karuizawa is a mountain resort town about an hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen. It has about 18,000 residents but about 18,000 second homes, so about 70% of its homes are empty most of the year. Almost all sales are houses and land.
House prices have doubled
The median house sold for about ¥46M in 2025, against ¥28M in 2015. House prices per m² have risen about 12% a year over the past five years, after almost no growth in the five years before. Houses now cost about 3.4 times the Nagano average per m², up from 2.2 times ten years ago. The pandemic, remote work and buyers from Tokyo and abroad drove the jump.
Land is booming
Benchmark residential land rose 12.1% in the past year and 125% over ten years, the third biggest ten-year rise of any city or town in Japan, after central Nagoya and Fukuoka's Hakata Ward. Land sold in transactions almost doubled in five years.
Cooling activity
Sales fell 21% in 2025, as high prices met fewer buyers. Population fell 3.8% between 2020 and 2025, but more people moved in from the rest of Japan than left in 2025.
Areas
Naka-Karuizawa and Karuizawa Station areas are the busiest. Unusually, houses far from stations sell for more per m² than those close to them, because the best villas are in the forest.
Risks
Earthquake probability is very low (about 1%). Mount Asama, an active volcano, is close to the town; check the volcano hazard map. A few benchmark sites are in flood or landslide zones near streams.
Living in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County: people, homes and risks
- Population 2025
- 18,465
- -3.8% since 2020
- Nagano: -4.5%
- Net moves in 2025
- +92
- +4.98 per 1,000 residents
- Nagano: -0.72
- Vacant homes (2023)
- 70.4%
- 6.0% empty and not for rent or sale
- Nagano: 20.1%
- Median rent (2023)
- ¥58k
- per month, all rented homes
- Nagano: ¥49k
- Strong earthquake risk
- 1.0%
- chance of shaking of intensity 6-lower or more within 30 years
- Nagano: 19.8%
- Average income per taxpayer
- ¥5.7M
- taxable income in 2023
- Nagano: ¥3.4M
- Daytime population
- 122
- people here by day per 100 residents (2020 census)
- Foreign residents
- 4.3%
- 928 registered residents in 2024
- Nagano: 2.3%
- Clinics
- 10.8
- per 10,000 residents; 1 hospitals, 11 dental clinics (2020)
- Nagano: 8.3
- Official land price 2026
- ¥35k/m²
- +12.1% in a year · +55.7% in 5 years
- Nagano: ¥30k/m²
- Flood exposure
- 37.5%
- of 8 benchmark sites in a worst-case flood zone (12.5% 3 m or deeper)
- Nagano: 55.7%
- Landslide exposure
- 12.5%
- of 8 benchmark sites in a landslide warning area
- Nagano: 7.5%
Check flood, landslide and tsunami zones for a specific address on the government hazard map ↗
Sources: 2025 Census (preliminary), 2025 Internal Migration Report, 2023 Housing and Land Survey (Statistics Bureau of Japan); J-SHIS seismic hazard model (NIED, 2024); Land Price Publication (MLIT); recorded crime: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (Tokyo only); incomes: Ministry of Internal Affairs taxation survey via the Statistics Bureau's municipal indicators; foreign residents: Basic Resident Register; medical facilities and station passengers: MLIT National Land Numerical Information. Earthquake probability is measured at the municipal center.
Example sales in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County
Real transactions from the last four quarters, picked near the lower (20th percentile), middle and upper (80th percentile) price points. Locations are shown at district level, as published by MLIT.
House
¥16.0M
¥213k/m²
- Oaza Hotchi
- Karuizawa
- Land 700 m² · floor 75 m²
- Built 2006 (19 yrs) · Wood
¥45.0M
¥450k/m²
- Oaza Nagakura
- Naka Karuizawa
- Land 1200 m² · floor 100 m²
- Built 1978 (48 yrs) · Wood
¥95.0M
¥792k/m²
- Oaza Karuizawa
- Karuizawa
- Land 1800 m² · floor 120 m²
- Built 2013 (13 yrs) · Wood
Show data table
| Year | House |
|---|---|
| 2007 | ¥21.5M |
| 2008 | ¥21.5M |
| 2009 | ¥15.5M |
| 2010 | ¥19.5M |
| 2011 | ¥26.0M |
| 2012 | ¥20.0M |
| 2013 | ¥27.0M |
| 2014 | ¥24.0M |
| 2015 | ¥28.0M |
| 2016 | ¥22.0M |
| 2017 | ¥25.0M |
| 2018 | ¥27.0M |
| 2019 | ¥21.5M |
| 2020 | ¥30.0M |
| 2021 | ¥32.0M |
| 2022 | ¥33.0M |
| 2023 | ¥45.0M |
| 2024 | ¥41.0M |
| 2025 | ¥46.0M |
| 2026 (partial) | ¥44.5M |
Show data table
| Year | House | Land |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | ¥250k/m² | ¥19k/m² |
| 2008 | ¥209k/m² | ¥15k/m² |
| 2009 | ¥193k/m² | ¥15k/m² |
| 2010 | ¥189k/m² | ¥16k/m² |
| 2011 | ¥200k/m² | ¥16k/m² |
| 2012 | ¥211k/m² | ¥14k/m² |
| 2013 | ¥245k/m² | ¥14k/m² |
| 2014 | ¥227k/m² | ¥18k/m² |
| 2015 | ¥200k/m² | ¥17k/m² |
| 2016 | ¥200k/m² | ¥16k/m² |
| 2017 | ¥248k/m² | ¥16k/m² |
| 2018 | ¥233k/m² | ¥16k/m² |
| 2019 | ¥216k/m² | ¥14k/m² |
| 2020 | ¥251k/m² | ¥19k/m² |
| 2021 | ¥312k/m² | ¥20k/m² |
| 2022 | ¥306k/m² | ¥25k/m² |
| 2023 | ¥407k/m² | ¥23k/m² |
| 2024 | ¥400k/m² | ¥34k/m² |
| 2025 | ¥408k/m² | ¥37k/m² |
| 2026 (partial) | ¥420k/m² | ¥38k/m² |
Show data table
| Building age (years) | House |
|---|---|
| 0 | ¥608k/m² |
| 1 | ¥597k/m² |
| 2 | ¥622k/m² |
| 6 | ¥637k/m² |
| 11 | ¥507k/m² |
| 13 | ¥441k/m² |
| 14 | ¥392k/m² |
| 16 | ¥462k/m² |
| 17 | ¥400k/m² |
| 19 | ¥336k/m² |
| 20 | ¥293k/m² |
| 22 | ¥347k/m² |
| 25 | ¥383k/m² |
| 30 | ¥278k/m² |
| 31 | ¥190k/m² |
| 32 | ¥200k/m² |
| 33 | ¥240k/m² |
| 34 | ¥199k/m² |
| 35 | ¥211k/m² |
| 36 | ¥227k/m² |
| 40 | ¥224k/m² |
| 42 | ¥225k/m² |
| 43 | ¥235k/m² |
| 44 | ¥86k/m² |
| 45 | ¥140k/m² |
| 47 | ¥212k/m² |
| 48 | ¥180k/m² |
| 49 | ¥100k/m² |
| 50 | ¥220k/m² |
Each line follows buildings from one construction period over time. 1981 is when Japan's current earthquake-resistance standard (shin-taishin) took effect.
Show data table
| Year | 1971-1980 | 1981-2000 | 2001-2010 | 2011-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | – | ¥246k/m² | – | – |
| 2008 | ¥143k/m² | ¥218k/m² | ¥309k/m² | – |
| 2009 | – | ¥157k/m² | – | – |
| 2010 | – | ¥169k/m² | ¥271k/m² | – |
| 2011 | – | ¥170k/m² | ¥283k/m² | – |
| 2012 | – | ¥176k/m² | ¥267k/m² | – |
| 2013 | – | ¥187k/m² | ¥293k/m² | – |
| 2014 | – | ¥185k/m² | – | – |
| 2015 | ¥138k/m² | ¥152k/m² | ¥292k/m² | – |
| 2016 | ¥133k/m² | ¥188k/m² | – | – |
| 2017 | – | ¥184k/m² | ¥332k/m² | ¥376k/m² |
| 2018 | – | ¥187k/m² | ¥300k/m² | ¥316k/m² |
| 2019 | – | ¥169k/m² | ¥261k/m² | – |
| 2020 | ¥140k/m² | ¥215k/m² | ¥363k/m² | ¥427k/m² |
| 2021 | ¥150k/m² | ¥221k/m² | ¥410k/m² | ¥400k/m² |
| 2022 | ¥188k/m² | ¥224k/m² | – | – |
| 2023 | ¥190k/m² | ¥295k/m² | ¥480k/m² | – |
| 2024 | – | ¥235k/m² | ¥506k/m² | – |
| 2025 | ¥240k/m² | ¥304k/m² | ¥449k/m² | – |
Prices near train stations in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County
Sales from 2023–2025, grouped by nearest station.
| Station | Median used condo price | Condo price per m² | Median house price (land + building) | Walk (min) | Sales | Daily passengers (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naka Karuizawa (中軽井沢) | – | – | ¥43.0M | 16 | 206 | 1,326-5% vs 2019 |
| Karuizawa (軽井沢) | – | – | ¥45.0M | 20 | 146 | 11,427+3% vs 2019 |
| Shinano Oiwake (信濃追分) | – | – | ¥46.0M | 21 | 94 | 492+0% vs 2019 |
How much does a house cost in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County?
The median house sale, including the land, was ¥46.0M in 2025 across 150 sales.
Are property prices in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County going up?
Over the five years to 2025, residential land prices changed +94.7%.
About this data
Figures are medians of real transactions reported to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) through its quarterly price survey. House prices per m² divide the total price (land and building) by the floor area. Medians based on fewer than 20 sales are not shown. The latest quarters are preliminary and are revised as more survey responses arrive.
Information only, not investment advice.