Official property data tools

Overview

Official data tools are free and powerful. MLIT’s Real Estate Information Library combines transaction prices, official land values, planning, disaster, and amenity data; REINS Market Information provides transaction comparables; hazard portals show disaster exposure; and MLIT and prefectural licensing records let you verify a broker’s license and any administrative actions before you pay. Data can lag and every property differs, so use these as strong evidence to check listings and brokers, not as a final valuation.

Fees and conflicts to check

Official data can lag and every property differs; use it to check listings and verify licenses, not as a final valuation.

What to verify before you rely on it

In short: MLIT Real Estate Information Library combines prices, land values, planning, and hazards; REINS Market Information provides transaction comparables; MLIT and prefectural records let you verify a broker’s license for free; Data can lag and every property differs — use as evidence, not gospel.

Whatever the category, establish three things before you rely on a provider: what kind of business it actually is (a licensed broker, a portal, a referral or media business, a manager, or an independent professional), how it is paid (by you, by the seller or lender, or through referral), and whether its advice is therefore independent of the transaction it is recommending. Ask for fees in writing, verify any licence and disciplinary record through the official registries, and treat a free service as one paid by someone else — usually an advertiser, a lender, or the seller. An English-language website tells you nothing about representation, so confirm whose interests the provider serves in your specific deal.