Next year, Akita Prefecture will see the completion of its first condominium development since 2010. Akita is the only prefecture in Japan to have had no new condominium developments in the past six years.
Demand for housing is low for the prefecture, which is suffering from the fastest population decline in the country. A shrinking population and growing construction costs make the area unattractive to developers.
The 15-storey, 56-unit apartment building will be located 1 kilometre from Akita Station in Akita City. The 3 and 4-Bedroom units will range in size from 72 ~ 93 sqm (775 ~ 1,000 sq.ft). Completion is tentatively scheduled for October 2017. The developer is Takara Leben.
Another apartment project nearby is in the planning stages, with a local developer planning a 14-storey, 58-unit apartment building to be built sometime between 2016 ~ 2018.
Condominium construction in the Tohoku area:
Prefecture | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aomori | 0 | 108 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 143 |
Iwate | 138 | 122 | 152 | 386 | 176 | 974 |
Miyagi | 663 | 1,460 | 870 | 1,550 | 1,326 | 5,869 |
Akita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yamagata | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 60 |
Fukushima | 0 | 58 | 253 | 295 | 220 | 826 |
Total | 801 | 1,756 | 1,275 | 2,231 | 1,809 | 7,872 |
Source: The Kahoku Shinpo, March 26, 2016.