Tokyo Olympic Village site sold for 13 billion Yen
The site for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic’s Athlete’s Village in Harumi, Chuo-ku will be sold to a consortium of developers for 12.96 billion Yen (approximately 127 million USD). This works out to approximately 96,800 Yen/sqm (88 USD/sf), less than sixth of its market value.Read more
Thai developer plans luxury villas for Niseko
PACE Development, a developer of luxury real estate projects in Thailand, is creating a high-end holiday home subdivision in Niseko, Hokkaido. PACE acquired Dean & DeLuca USA in 2014, and is currently developing MahaNakhon, a 77-storey mixed-use skyscraper in Bangkok and Thailand’s tallest building.
The developer plans to build approximately 37 holiday villas on the 14 hectare site in Niseko. Villas will be marketed for sale to Thai buyers, with prices expected to be somewhere in the range of 1.5 ~ 4 million USD each.Read more
Zipper company’s passive town attracts residents despite high rent
YKK Real Estate, a division of the YKK Group (the world’s largest zipper manufacturer), is developing a passive town in Kurobe City, Toyama Prefecture. The concept is to create comfortable housing designed for the environment that will reduce the need for air-conditioning.
The first phase of housing was completed in early 2016. Apartments in the 36-unit housing block do not have air-conditioning units. Instead, the building is cooled using circulating water from Toyama’s underground water system which is sourced from the Kurobe River.Read more
Buying real estate in Kamakura - a quick overview of building restrictions
Located between the mountains and sea, Kamakura is an ancient city located 50 km south of Tokyo. The city came to prominence in the 12th century when it was home to the Kamakura Shogunate. Unlike some of the more urban cities in Japan, Kamakura has retained much of its traditional character. The city is characterised by its traditional streetscapes, numerous temples and shrines, and lush mountainside. In fact, 40% of the city is forest and greenery.
Nowadays, much of this character is preserved through numerous strict building and zoning codes enforced by the city, along with efforts by local residents.Read more
Forecast of new apartment prices for next 10 years
According to a medium-term forecast by the Japan Real Estate Institute, the price of brand new apartments in Tokyo’s 23 wards is expected to shift to a downwards trend from 2021. This would coincide with the release of the apartments built for the 2020 Olympics Athlete’s Village onto the market.
In 2016, the average price of a brand new apartment is expected to increase by 2.5% from 2015, with the price per square meter reaching 959,000 Yen/sqm. Prices are forecast to continue to increase over the next few years by around 0.2 ~ 1.2% annually, which is a slower rate than the 6.1% in 2014 and 8.9% seen in 2015.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in July 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2016:Read more