The average residential land price fell 3.4 percent in the year to July 1, marking the 19th straight year of decline, though the drop was less than the 4 percent fall recorded for the previous year, the government said Tuesday.

The average commercial land price meanwhile decreased 4.6 percent, the third consecutive annual drop, compared with the previous year's 5.9 percent fall in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.

Of the 21,786 locations used for the annual land price survey this year and last year, 98.5 percent registered decreases, down only 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Just 27 locations registered increased land prices, the second lowest — after last year's three — since the government initiated the survey in 1975.

In the three metropolitan regions of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, price drops halved as transactions in condominiums expanded with investment in rental offices recovering.

"Signs of an end to falling land prices were seen in the three metropolitan regions," said an official at the land ministry.

In the Tokyo region, average residential land prices fell 3.0 percent, compared with 4.1 percent for commercial sites.

In the Nagoya area, price drops were limited to 1.3 percent for residential land and 2.9 percent for commercial land.

The Osaka region saw a 3.6 percent fall in the average residential land price and a 5.3 percent decline in the average commercial price.

For other regions, the average residential land price decreased 3.6 percent and the average commercial land price fell 4.8 percent.

Among commercial points covered by the survey, a location in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district recorded the highest price at ¥20.2 million per square meter. The highest residential land price was ¥2.83 million per square meter in Gobancho in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.