Office vacancy rates in January - 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 7.18% in January, down 0.16 points from the previous month and down 1.38 points from January 2013. Vacancy rates have been decreasing for the past 7 months.

The vacancy rate in brand new buildings was 14.42%, down 0.08 points from the previous month and down 9.79 points from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka Sold Out

Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka 2

All 36 apartments in Mitsui Fudosan's Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka have now sold out. 

The two and three-bedroom apartments were priced from 164 ~ 680 million Yen. With an average price of 2,190,000 Yen/sqm (2,000 USD/sqft), this is among the most expensive apartment buildings in Tokyo. Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in January

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 1,826 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in January, down 77.9% from the previous month but up 6.1% from January 2013. 

The contract rate for the month was 78.6%, up 2.5 points from the previous month and up 9.4 points from last year.

The average apartment price was 46,370,000 Yen, down 1.8% from last year. The average price per square meter was 660,000 Yen, down 4.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in Sendai now higher than the the peak of the bubble in 1991

According to advertising firm DG Communications, the average price of a brand new apartment in greater Sendai in 2013 was 35,599,000 Yen, up 7.3% from 2012. This is now 0.7% higher than the peak of 35,339,000 Yen seen in 1991 during Japan's asset price bubble.

The average price per square meter was 468,200 Yen, up 9.0% from the previous year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

January rental data - Tokyo Kantei

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo in January was 2,574 Yen/sqm, up 1.6% from January 2013 and up 2.4% from the previous month. The average apartment size was 58.86 sqm and the average building age was 19.0 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Hiroshima's Naked Island sold

Hiroshima Sukune IslandSukune Island in Hiroshima Prefecture sold at public auction to a private bidder for 7,788,800 Yen. The price was a little over 3 times the evaluation price set by the court. 

A total of 10 bids were made on the 7400 sqm island. The winning bidder is the manager of a rental apartment building in nearby Fukuyama City. The 73-year old does not have immediate plans for the island.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Second-hand apartment sales in January - REINS

According to REINS, 2,688 secondhand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in January, down 7.3% from the previous month but up 6.8% from January 2013. This is the 17th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sales.  

The average sale price was 26,730,000 Yen, up 4.4% from December and up 1.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 415,300 Yen, up 2.6% from December and up 4.5% from last year. The average apartment age was 19.38 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward