Ehime ‘Castle’ up for public auction
A 5-storey ‘castle’ in the outskirts of Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, is up for public auction this month with a minimum bid set at 39,240,000 Yen (approx. 370,000 USD).
The property is a run-down former love hotel designed to resemble a traditional Japanese castle. The 2,600 sqm (27,800 sq.ft) hotel was built in the 1980s, but has been closed since the early 2000s. It is located on a 15,000 sqm block of land across the road from a pond and golf course, and a few hundred meters from several housing subdivisions.Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - June 2016
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in Tokyo was 4.4% in June 2016, up 0.2 points from the previous month but down 0.3 points from last year. The average yield across Tokyo was 6.2%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and down 0.5 points from last year.
The average asking price for a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 979,942 Yen/sqm as of June 1, up 0.9% from the previous month and up 14.3% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,391,818 Yen/sqm, up 1.2% from the previous month and up 14.8% from last year.Read more
Historic Kudan Kaikan to be replaced with high-rise building
There are plans to convert the historic Kudan Kaikan building near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo into a 75-meter tall office building. Tenders will soon be open to developers, with the requirements that proposals include retaining parts of the historic facade or at least attempting to recreate the facade, and for a new building with a height of no more than 75 meters.Read more
Landowner suing Osaka City for bomb disposal fees
A landowner in Osaka is fighting the city over the disposal costs of an unexploded ordnance (UXO) unearthed during construction. The property owner filed a civil suit in the Osaka District Court seeking the reimbursement of the 5,760,000 Yen in bomb removal fees.
In March 2015, a 1.8 meter long American-made bomb weighing 1,000kg was found buried two meters underground in an apartment construction site in the Namba area. A 300-meter evacuation radius was established while the Self-Defense Forces removed the bomb. As many as 2,200 residents had to temporarily evacuate, and the nearby Nankai Main Train Line had to stop operations for a three hour period. Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in May 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of May 2016:Read more
Akita Prefecture to have its first condominium project in 6 years
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.Read more