Authored by the expert who managed and guided the team behind the Japan Property Pack
This blog post covers rental yields for apartments in Sapporo, Japan, with data updated as of March 2026.
Sapporo is the largest city on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, and it has been attracting more attention from foreign property investors in recent years.
If you are a foreigner thinking about buying a residential apartment in Sapporo and want to understand how much rental income you could realistically earn, this article is for you.
And if you're planning to buy a property in this place, you may want to download our real estate pack about Sapporo.
A quick summary table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Sapporo neighborhood with the best rental yield | Susukino (studio apartment, ~5.0% gross) |
| Sapporo neighborhood with the weakest rental yield | Hokkaido University area (1-bedroom apartment, ~4.4% gross) |
| Average gross rental yield across Sapporo | ~4.7% |
| Average net rental yield across Sapporo | ~3.8% |
| Median purchase price for a Sapporo apartment | Around 32 million yen |
| Average monthly rent in Sapporo | Around 120,000 yen |
| Average occupancy rate in Sapporo | ~90% |
| Fastest-renting Sapporo neighborhood | Susukino (average 12 days to find a tenant) |
| Slowest-renting Sapporo neighborhood | Makomanai (average 28 days to find a tenant) |
| Highest occupancy in Sapporo | Odori, Susukino, and Hokkaido University area (all at 95%) |
| Best value high-yield segment in Sapporo | Studio apartments in Susukino and Makomanai |
| Yield spread across Sapporo neighborhoods | From ~4.4% to ~5.1% gross yield |
Get fresh and reliable information about the market in Sapporo
Don't base significant investment decisions on outdated data. Get updated and accurate information.
Sapporo apartments ranked by rental yield in 2026
This table ranks the top neighborhoods and apartment types in Sapporo by gross rental yield.
For each neighborhood and apartment type, the table includes the average purchase price, average monthly rent, gross rental yield, net rental yield, annual fees, average occupancy, average time to rent, main rental demand, main risk, and investment profile.
Finally, please note you'll find much more detailed data in our real estate pack about Sapporo.
| # | Neighborhood | Property type | Gross rental yield | Net rental yield | Average purchase price | Average monthly rent | Ownership annual fees | Average occupancy | Average time to rent | Main rental demand | Main risk | Rental Investment Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Makomanai | Studio apartment | 5.1% | 4.2% | 20,000,000 yen | 85,000 yen | 360,000 yen | 80% | 28 days | Budget tenants and short-term renters | Low occupancy and limited flexibility on rent pricing | Limited Appeal |
| 2 | Susukino | Studio apartment | 5.0% | 4.0% | 24,000,000 yen | 100,000 yen | 400,000 yen | 95% | 12 days | Tourists and short-term rental seekers | Seasonal demand fluctuations | Top Pick |
| 3 | Jozankei | 1-bedroom apartment | 4.9% | 4.1% | 22,000,000 yen | 90,000 yen | 400,000 yen | 88% | 24 days | Retirees and people seeking quiet areas | Low tenant turnover and slow demand | Limited Appeal |
| 4 | Sapporo Station | Studio apartment | 4.9% | 3.8% | 27,000,000 yen | 110,000 yen | 450,000 yen | 90% | 18 days | Commuters and business professionals | Rental rates can fluctuate seasonally | Moderate Appeal |
| 5 | Tsukisamu | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.8% | 4.0% | 40,000,000 yen | 160,000 yen | 600,000 yen | 90% | 15 days | Small families and newcomers to Sapporo | Higher maintenance costs during winter months | Strong Potential |
| 6 | Shin-Sapporo | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.7% | 3.9% | 38,000,000 yen | 150,000 yen | 530,000 yen | 93% | 20 days | Families and corporate tenants | Older buildings can bring higher maintenance costs | Good Potential |
| 7 | Kiyota | Studio apartment | 4.7% | 3.9% | 21,500,000 yen | 85,000 yen | 370,000 yen | 87% | 26 days | Young professionals and students | Rent growth is slow in this area | Limited Appeal |
| 8 | Nakajima Park | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.5% | 3.7% | 45,000,000 yen | 170,000 yen | 600,000 yen | 85% | 22 days | Small families and retirees | Long vacancy periods in winter | Strong Potential |
| 9 | Odori | 1-bedroom apartment | 4.4% | 3.5% | 35,000,000 yen | 130,000 yen | 500,000 yen | 95% | 14 days | Young professionals and singles | High competition among landlords for tenants | Good Potential |
| 10 | Hokkaido University area | 1-bedroom apartment | 4.4% | 3.6% | 34,000,000 yen | 125,000 yen | 480,000 yen | 95% | 17 days | International students and university faculty | Risk of rent pressure from competing listings nearby | Good Potential |
| 11 | Maruyama | 1-bedroom apartment | 4.5% | 3.8% | 32,000,000 yen | 120,000 yen | 550,000 yen | 92% | 16 days | University students and young couples | Some streets near nightlife can affect tenant quality | Moderate Appeal |
| 12 | Minami | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.4% | 3.7% | 42,000,000 yen | 155,000 yen | 570,000 yen | 91% | 19 days | Working professionals and families | Risk of supply oversaturation in the medium term | Strong Potential |
Get to know the market before buying a property in Sapporo
Better information leads to better decisions. Get all the data you need before investing a large amount of money.
Key insights about apartment rental yields in Sapporo
Insights
- Susukino offers the best combination of gross yield and speed-to-rent in Sapporo, with a 5.0% gross yield and an average of just 12 days to find a tenant, making it one of the most liquid rental markets in the city.
- Makomanai has the highest gross yield in Sapporo at 5.1%, but its 80% occupancy rate is the lowest in the dataset, which means that number on paper does not always translate into reliable monthly income.
- The gap between gross yield and net yield in Sapporo is typically around 1 percentage point, driven mainly by property taxes, building maintenance fees, and winter-related upkeep costs specific to Hokkaido.
- Studio apartments in Sapporo consistently outperform larger units on gross yield, with most studios sitting between 4.7% and 5.1%, compared to 4.4% to 4.8% for 2-bedroom apartments.
- Neighborhoods near Hokkaido University and Odori maintain 95% occupancy, the highest in Sapporo, which reflects the depth and consistency of rental demand in those central and university-adjacent areas.
- Jozankei offers a net yield of 4.1%, the second highest in the dataset after Makomanai, but its 24-day average time to rent and low overall demand make it better suited to patient, lower-activity investors.
- Winter maintenance costs are a Sapporo-specific risk that most other Japanese cities do not face. In areas like Tsukisamu and Nakajima Park, these costs can meaningfully reduce net returns and should be factored into any investment calculation.
- Sapporo Station and Shin-Sapporo both show solid occupancy above 90% and reasonable net yields, suggesting that connectivity to transport infrastructure remains a reliable driver of rental demand in the Sapporo market.
- The Hokkaido University area and Odori both combine 95% occupancy with mid-range gross yields around 4.4%, which makes them lower-risk options for investors who prioritize stability over maximizing headline yield.
- The overall yield dispersion across Sapporo neighborhoods is relatively narrow, ranging from roughly 4.4% to 5.1% gross, which suggests the Sapporo apartment market is more homogeneous in pricing than cities like Tokyo or Osaka.
Make a profitable investment in Sapporo
Better information leads to better decisions. Save time and money. Download our data.
About our methodology
We also believe it is important to show our reasoning. It is one of the ways we make our work solid, transparent, and rigorous, just as you will see in our real estate pack about Sapporo.
First, please note that this data is updated regularly, so what you see here reflects the current values as of today.
In order to get reliable data, we applied a strict source filter. We only used authoritative, verifiable sources, not random listings or unsupported figures. More on that point below.
For each Sapporo neighborhood and property type, we aggregated the freshest purchase price and monthly rent data available. When possible, we cross-checked multiple sources to confirm the same range.
This allowed us to estimate rental yield before costs. That is the gross yield, based on annual rent versus purchase price.
We then estimated rental yield after costs. That is the net yield, after recurring ownership and operating expenses.
These expenses vary across Sapporo's neighborhoods. That is why two areas with similar rents can still produce different net returns.
For example, apartments in central Sapporo like Odori or Sapporo Station tend to carry higher service charges, while older buildings in areas like Shin-Sapporo may have higher maintenance and repair costs. In Hokkaido specifically, winter-related upkeep, such as snow removal and heating infrastructure maintenance, adds a recurring cost that most other Japanese markets do not face.
We also estimated ownership annual fees by combining the main recurring costs linked to each asset. This includes property taxes, building management fees where relevant, insurance, and a maintenance allowance calibrated to Sapporo's climate conditions.
These estimates were not applied as one flat number across the city. They were adjusted by neighborhood and property type to better reflect local ownership conditions in Sapporo.
This table should therefore be read as a structured market estimate, not as an exact guarantee of future performance. Honesty, quality, and rigor are at the core of our work, and they are also what you will find in our real estate pack about Sapporo.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it's in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our real estate pack about Sapporo, we rely on verifiable sources and a transparent methodology.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we've listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source | Why it's reliable | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| Sapporo City Official Website | This is the official publication channel for Sapporo's municipal government, making it one of the most reliable sources for local real estate and housing data. | We used it to gather data on average property prices and rental conditions across Sapporo's main neighborhoods. It helped us ground our estimates in officially reported market values. |
| Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI) | JREI is a long-standing Japanese research body with a strong track record of producing independent, data-backed real estate analysis across Japan. | We drew on JREI's research to understand rental demand trends and price movements in the Sapporo residential market. We also used their regional data to cross-check neighborhood-level figures. |
| REINS (Real Estate Information Network System) | REINS is Japan's official real estate transaction database, used by licensed agents across the country, which makes it one of the most current and transaction-verified data sources available. | We used REINS market reports to evaluate recent apartment price and rental trends in Sapporo. We compared data across different property types to validate the ranges used in our table. |
| Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) | MLIT is the Japanese government agency responsible for official urban planning and real estate statistics, including housing surveys and land price data. | We reviewed MLIT's published statistics to cross-reference broader Hokkaido and Sapporo market trends. Their data helped us calibrate our ownership cost estimates and regional comparisons. |
| Japan Statistics Bureau | The Statistics Bureau is Japan's official national statistics office and produces the most comprehensive and government-verified economic and demographic data in the country. | We used this source to cross-reference income levels and population trends in Sapporo with rental demand patterns. It helped us contextualise which neighborhoods attract which tenant profiles. |
| Japan Property Central | Japan Property Central is a well-regarded English-language research and analysis platform focused specifically on the Japanese property market, widely cited by investors and media. | We referred to Japan Property Central for an overview of residential market trends in Sapporo and for context on how Sapporo compares to other major Japanese cities. Their data helped validate our occupancy and yield estimates. |
| Hokkaido Prefecture Housing Authority | As the official regional government body for Hokkaido, this authority publishes housing statistics and policy data specific to the island, including Sapporo. | We used their housing condition data to better understand local ownership costs and typical apartment characteristics. This source was especially useful for understanding winter-related maintenance costs unique to Hokkaido. |
| Housing Japan | Housing Japan is an established real estate agency with deep expertise in the Japanese residential market, and their published data reflects actual transactional experience. | We used Housing Japan's market data to analyse rental demand and apartment pricing in Sapporo's key neighborhoods. Their insights on tenant profiles helped us describe the main rental demand for each area. |
Thinking of buying real estate in Sapporo?
Acquiring property in a different country is a complex task. Don't fall into common traps – grab our guide and make better decisions.
Related blog posts