Wacoal Holdings, a lingerie company, will open their first traditional machiya guesthouse in Kyoto on April 28. The 92-year old townhouse is located 800 meters west of Nanzen-ji Temple and 500 meters south of Heian Shrine. The two-storey wooden house has a total floor area of 91 sqm (980 sq.ft) and can sleep up to six guests. Nightly rates range from 60,000 ~ 180,000 Yen plus tax, depending on the season and number of guests.
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) apartment across greater Tokyo was 36,190,000 Yen in March, up 0.6% from the previous month and up 1.1% from last year. This was the first increase in four months. The average building age was 23.2 years.
Kasumigaseki Building, Japan’s first skyscraper, turned 50 on April 12. To celebrate the half-century anniversary, the exterior of the building has been lit up with an art display that runs in the evenings until the end of May. A beer garden has also been set up outside the entrance for the duration of the event.
Built in 1968 and with a height of 147 meters, this was the first building in the country to be over 100 meters tall. Nowadays it is flanked by a taller neighbor – the twin tower Central Government Building No. 7 – which was completed in 2007 and is 156m and 176m tall.
Italian jeweler and luxury brand Bulgari will open a Bulgari-branded hotel in front of Tokyo Station in 2022. The hotel will feature interiors designed by Antonio Citterio, 98 spaciously sized guest rooms, a bar, restaurant, spa, pool, ballroom, chapel and Bulgari’s signature chocolate shop. Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will manage the hotel, with nightly room rates expected to exceed 80,000 ~ 90,000 Yen (approx. 740 ~ 835 USD).
The hotel will be located in the Yaesu 2 Chome North District Redevelopment on the eastern side of Tokyo Station. In contrast to the large city blocks and wide avenues of Marunouchi and Otemachi on the opposite side of the station, the Yaesu side is a densely packed district of narrow, older buildings and small streets, and is a prime target for large-scale redevelopment.
Construction of the project is scheduled to start in November 2018 with completion by August 2022. The 45-storey building will be approximately 240 meters tall, with the Bulgari Hotel to be located on floors 39 ~ 45.
According to a report issued by the Real Estate Economic Institute on April 16, the average price of a brand new apartment across greater Tokyo was 59,210,000 Yen in fiscal 2017, an increase of 6.9% from 2016 and the highest level seen since 1990 when the average price peaked at 62,140,000 Yen. High labor and construction costs along with rising land prices have been a major contributor to the high sale prices of apartments in and around the capital.
A total of 36,837 brand new apartments were released for sale, a 1.1% increase from 2016 and the first increase seen in four years. This is still far short of the peak supply of 95,479 apartments seen in 2000. The average price per square meter was 864,000 Yen, up 7.9% from 2016.
The scandal surrounding a failed share house developer continues to grow this month as more information about dodgy spruiking tactics and falsified documents comes to light. As many as 700 investors from a single share house developer are facing potential bankruptcy, but the number of victims could easily rise as other investment-spruiking companies are put under the spotlight.
A lawyer representing a class action by investors against the Tokyo-based share house company alleges that the inflated price of the share houses sold to investors was determined by the maximum amount that the bank was willing to lend a buyer, rather than the true market price. A gross return was 8 ~ 9% was then applied to the sale price, even if it was higher than the market rent. The buyer would buy under the assumption that they could rely on stable, guaranteed rents that would provide them with a cash surplus each month. The high yield was only possible because the share house operator was providing a rental guarantee that far exceeded the rent they were receiving – causing the operator to lose money each month.
A 160m tall apartment tower is planned for a site located above Sengaku-ji Station in Minato-ku, Tokyo. The project covers a 13,000 sqm site located on the eastern side of the Daiichi-Keihin Road, with the Yamanote train tracks running along the western side. This is reclaimed land that was once part of Tokyo Bay.
In February it was announced that a joint venture between Kajima Corporation, Tokyu Land and Keikyu Corporation had successfully bid on the development. On April 4, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that their bid was disqualified after charges were filed against an executive from Kajima Corporation for allegedly colluding on a bid for the new high-speed maglev train.
Tokiwamatsu House, a vintage condominium located a 10 minute walk south of Omotesando Station, is being redeveloped into a new apartment building. Demolition of the existing building is expected to be finished by late August.
The former block of apartments was developed by Sumitomo and built in 1970. It included 62 apartments on 8 floors with sizes ranging from 37 ~ 122 sqm (398 ~ 1,313 sq.ft). The most recent reported sale was a large apartment on a low floor that sold early last year for around 770,000 Yen/sqm, which is less than half of what a similarly-sized brand new apartment would cost in this neighbourhood.
Ace Hotel, a boutique hotel chain headquartered in Portland, is making its first foray in the Asian market with the opening of a hotel in Kyoto next year. The 213-room Ace Hotel Kyoto will be the main part of the historic Shinpukan redevelopment. With architect Kengo Kuma leading the project’s design, the hotel will incorporate the existing building’s early 20th century architectural elements with contemporary styling. The building is the perfect fit for the hotelier’s brand which focuses on reviving and repurposing older and more character-filled buildings.
According to REINS, 3,819 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in March, up 11.5% from the previous month and up 2.7% from last year. The average sale price was 33,690,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 7.1% from last year. The average price per square meter was 521,100 Yen, up 1.8% from the previous month and up 5.7% from last year. This is the 63rd month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices.
