Saitama - population growth is not evenly split

Saitama Prefecture lies at the north-northwestern outskirts of the Tokyo CBD. The population of Saitama is stagnant, though this fact ignores thew role that internal migration places within the country. People are moving into Saitama, others are moving closer to Tokyo, leaving a net gain of just 0.25% per annum over the last 8 years. But all is not equal within the prefecture since there is also significant movement within the prefecture.
The following chart captures the trend. It shows our interpretation of population growth over the last 8 years for 5 stations different distances from Tokyo - Wakoshi, Shiki, Kawagoe, Sakado and Higashi Matsuyama.
We can see from this chart that Wakoshi is growing at around 1.5% per annum in population, though places like Higashi Matsuyama are falling in population. There is no question these places will benefit from general improvements in house prices, however inner city areas can be expected to fare better. In contrast, outer areas of Tokyo will have more subdued growth as a result of excess housing stock. The housing stock is a result of depopulation and home upgrading, which can be expected to depress prices. On the positive side rental returns are resilient and the corresponding high rental yields more than compensate for the subdued price outlook. We offer a report on the population dynamics for the different districts of Toyko and Saitama. Email propertypo@gmail.com for more information.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com