TOKYO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Prices for new condominiums in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures surged in October, boosted by rising construction costs and an increase in the number of pricey high-rise condos, local media reported Thursday.
The average price of such properties in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes the capital and its neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, stood at over 92 million yen (about 596,000 U.S. dollars), public broadcaster NHK said, citing figures released by the Real Estate Economic Institute, a private think tank.
The figure marked an increase of 40.7 percent from a year before, the report said.
Meanwhile, the average unit price for Tokyo's central 23 wards came to 129.4 million yen, figures showed.
The institute said real estate developers are supplying high-rise condominiums in city centers, which are popular with both working generations and senior citizens, and it expects prices to remain high. ■
