The number of new condominiums put up for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in May fell 4.7 percent from a year before to 6,799, the second straight monthly fall, a private research institute said Tuesday.
Real Estate Economic Institute Co. traced the drop to developers' deliberately putting off releases of new condos in view of slowing consumer demand. Suppliers also took a beating from declines in the number of potential buyers who visited showrooms of newly released units, it added.
"The sales-stimulatory effects of tax breaks for new home purchasers appear to have calmed down for the time being," an official at the institute said.
The official said the number of new condominiums to be put on sale in June is likely to witness a year-on-year fall of 1,900 to around 7,000.
Of the total number offered in May, 80.1 percent found buyers, up 4 percentage points from a year before.
New condominiums sold in Tokyo's 23 wards accounted for 2,551, or 37.5 percent of the total of condos supplied in the reporting month, the institute said.