Secondhand apartment sales in March - REINS

According to REINS, 3,994 secondhand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in March, up 20.6% from the previous month and up 4.3% from March 2013. The average sale price was 26,650,000 Yen, down 1.0% from February but up 2.7% from last year.

The average price per square meter was 416,600 Yen, down 200 Yen from February but up 4.9% from last year. The average apartment age was 19.40 years and the average apartment size was 63.96 sqm (688 sqft).

The Tokyo Metropolitan area saw 1,983 apartments sold, up 20.9% from February and up 6.1% from last year. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in March - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji’s office report, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 6.70% in March, down 0.31 points from the previous month and down 1.86 points from March 2013. This is the first time since May 2009 that vacancy rates have dropped to the 6% range.

The vacancy rate in brand new buildings was 20.26%, up 0.61 points from the previous month but down 2.98 points from last year. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Former Kobe Sumitomo Building to be demolished

Former Kobe Sumitomo Building 1

The former Kobe Sumitomo Building in Kobe is going to be demolished this month.

Built in 1934, the 3-storey building was originally the Kobe branch of the Sumitomo Bank. It was a landmark in the former foreign settlement area around Motomachi.Read more

by Zoe Ward

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

According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in April was 5.4%, down 0.1 points from March. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 7.2%, down 0.1 points.

The vacancy rate remains unchanged at 9.9% across Minato-ku and 11.0% across Tokyo.

The average asking price of a secondhand apartment in Minato-ku was 781,143 Yen/sqm as of April 1, up 0.1% from the previous month. The average asking price for land was 1,113,333 Yen/sqm, up 4.6%.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Developers struggling with rising construction costs

Apartment developers are facing an impending crisis as construction costs continue to rise.

The average cost per apartment has risen almost 20% to 23 million Yen in the past year. Average construction costs per square meter are now around 300,000 Yen.

To make things worse, land prices are now starting to increase. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Growing market for secondhand apartments, but concerns linger

New secondhand apartment sales Tokyo 2003 2013

Despite the preference that Japanese have for all things new, secondhand apartments are growing in popularity and more and more developers are getting involved in renovations and apartment flipping.

According to REINS, 36,432 secondhand apartments were sold in greater Tokyo in 2013, up 16% from the previous year. Over the same period, 44,886 new apartments were sold, up 29% from 2012.

There are three main reasons for the recent growth in the secondhand apartment market: Read more

by Zoe Ward

Major banks to raise interest rates this month

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) and other major Japanese banks will be raising the prime rate on their 10-year fixed-rate home loans this month. Read more

by Zoe Ward