Japan Property Central is open for business

Japan Property Central K.K. is proud to announce the launch of its real estate brokerage which will cater exclusively to buyers looking to purchase real estate in Tokyo.

The transition to a fully licensed real estate company is a natural next step for Japan Property Central, which has been providing information on the Japanese real estate market since 2010.Read more

by Zoe Ward

High-rise apartment supply to improve

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute’s report on the high-rise apartment* market, there 252 residential high-rise development projects currently in the pipeline across Japan. Of those, 173 buildings containing 70,235 apartments (75% of the total) are planned for the greater Tokyo area, and 47 buildings with 15,689 apartments are planned for the Kinki region. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment sale prices and transactions down from last month

According to REINS, 2,638 secondhand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 5.3% from the previous month and down 14.2% from May 2013. This is the second month in a row where transaction numbers have fallen below levels seen 12 months prior. 

The average apartment sale price across greater Tokyo was 26,560,000 Yen, down 1.2% from the previous month but 3.3% higher than last year. The average price per square meter was 413,400 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous month but up 3.1% from last year. The average building age was 19.82 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Toranomon Hills officially open from today

Toranomon Hills Tokyo 1

Mori Building’s latest high-rise - Toranomon Hills - is officially open today. At 247m tall, the 52-storey building is Tokyo’s second highest mixed-use building after Tokyo Midtown. An opening ceremony was yesterday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe giving a speech.

The building contains office space on floor 6 to 35, apartments on floors 37 to 46 and the Andaz Hotel on floors 47 to 52. Of the 172 apartments, 70 were offered for sale (most have already sold) with the remaining apartments offered for rent.

Monthly rents range from 550,000 Yen (5,400 USD) for a 1-bedroom up to 2.92 million Yen (28,500 USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - June 2014

Minato Tokyo yields June 2014

According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in June was 5.3%, showing no change from May but down 1.9 points from June 2013. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 7.2%, up 0.1 points from May but down 1.1 points from June 2013.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Residents asked to move out of Yokohama apartment building after construction fault discovered

Park Square Mitsuzawa Koen 2

Sumitomo Realty & Development are asking residents of an 11-year old condominium apartment building in Yokohama City to move out after it was recently discovered that the building is starting to lean as the foundation piles might not have been sunk deep enough to reach bedrock. Sumitomo said they cannot guarantee the safety of the building and are considering either reinforcing or demolishing and rebuilding the apartment block.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Out-of-date land titles slowing down redevelopment in Tohoku

Otsuchi Town Iwate

Reconstruction and relocation efforts in the disaster-hit areas in Tohoku are being stalled as out-of-date property records are making it close to impossible to locate landowners. 

In the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, over half of the homes were either severely damaged or completely destroyed in the 2011 disaster. Barely any progress has been made on reconstructing the town and almost 4,100 residents (40% of the town’s population) are still living in temporary accommodation. Read more

by Zoe Ward