An offshore buyer may have been found for a large block of land with an interesting history in central Kyoto. The land is located in one of Kyoto’s leading tourist areas. Amidst a booming tourism industry and improving real estate market, a property such as this should have buyers lining out the door to bid…
Resorttrust Inc, a Nagoya-based hotel operator and developer, is planning to open The Kahala Hotel & Resort Yokohama in the city’s waterfront district of Minato Mirai by 2020. Resorttrust plans to capitalize on the Kahala brand-name to attract both domestic and foreign tourists. The project will include two 14-storey hotels – one that is open…
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,978 brand new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in September, up 41.7% from the previous month but down 13.0% from last year. Back in 2013, as many as 5,970 new apartments were released for sale in the month of September. The average sale price was 58,240,000…
In September, the average monthly rent of a condominium in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,287 Yen/sqm, down 0.2% from the previous month and down 2.4% from last year. This is the 3rd month in a row to record a year-on-year drop in rents and the lowest level seen in the past 12 months.
Articles appearing in both the Nikkei Business Publication and the Business Journal have suggested that a block of land (with building) alongside Ginza’s main shopping street will be sold for a record price of up to 64 million Yen per square meter (approx. 570,000 USD/sqm or 53,000 USD/sq ft).
Tokyo’s Shinjuku district is finalizing plans that will impose stricter limitations on short-term accommodation in some residential zones. The city is currently in the process of seeking public comments that will help shape the final regulations. Under the proposal, properties located in exclusive residential zones cannot be let out to guests from Monday through Thursday,…
According to REINS, 3,222 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in September, up 42.3% from the previous month and up 2.3% from last year. The average sale price was 32,260,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 3.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 506,700 Yen, up 0.3%…
The Japanese government is considering converting several privately owned historic villas in the coastal town of Oiso into a public park. The project may include acquiring the properties and restoring them so that they can be opened to the public. The proposal covers a 6 hectare site including the Sorokaku Villa, former Ikeda Shigeaki Residence,…
If you want a well-insulated house in Japan you usually need to build it yourself. If you are looking at an older house to buy or rent, insulation is usually lacking, unless the original owner decided to go the extra mile to create a home with insulation. For the majority of older homes, however, they…
Tokyo will lose another one of Kenzo Tange’s works, with the Kuwait Embassy building in Tokyo due to be demolished and rebuilt next year. The 47-year old building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange (1913-2005) and completed in 1970. Tange is considered one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, designing…