Hokkaido to sell Taisho era building

The Hokkaido prefectural government are looking for a buyer for the historic Archives of Hokkaido Annex Building in Sapporo City.

Built in 1926, the Taisho era building was designed by architect Atsumasa Hagiawara and built in the Vienna Secession style of architecture which was popular at the time. It is located to the south of the main Archives building, which was built in 1888 and used as the Hokkaido Government Office.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment price to income ratio worsens in 2012

According to data released by Tokyo Kantei on July 30, the average price of a brand new apartment in Japan was 6.53 times the average annual income, while a second-hand apartment (less than 10 yrs old) was 4.56 times the average income.

While apartment prices are rising, income levels are still declining. The average annual income in 2012 fell 4.6% to 4,170,000 Yen. This is the third year in a row where incomes have fallen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Using the right agent to sell your property

While you may put a lot of effort into finding the right property to buy, when it comes to selling many will entrust everything to the broker. But putting too much faith into your broker can sometimes be a bad thing.

Before picking a broker, it is essential that you do some homework.

"When listing my apartment, I met with several brokers and went with the one that gave me the highest market evaluation. It was an exclusive contract with a three month term. Each week, however, the broker would call to report that they had no inquiries. Eventually they said that a larger apartment in a nearby building recently sold at a much lower price and that I needed to drop my asking price considerably.

After having a look at comparable properties on the market, I realised that, despite the sales pitch by the broker, my apartment's initial asking price was far too high. At the end of the three month's I switched to another broker and finally sold the apartment at a more reasonable price."

-- A 49-year old seller in Tokyo

Read more

by Zoe Ward

Areas where property prices are likely to outperform Japan's inflation target

With the Bank of Japan's governor Haruhiko Kuroda setting a 2% inflation rate target within the next two years, which locations are more likely to receive the benefits of inflating asset prices and which areas are not?

In July 2002, Nikkei Business published a special feature on the 'real estate revolution' as Japan's property market was reaching a turning point. The feature stressed the importance of looking at the investment returns on all types of real estate and introduced the reporting of rental returns by train station.

More than 10 years have passed since the original article, and the Japan appears to be at another turning point.Read more

by Zoe Ward

The Jingumae Residence 84% sold

The Jingumae Residence, a recently completed condominium near Omotesando, has seen a surge in sales in the first half of 2013.

The sales office and showroom opened in January 2012. Of the 148 apartments available for sale, only 60 were sold in 2012. By mid-2013, a total of 125 apartments had sold, leaving 23 apartments remaining for sale. Approximately 15% of the buyers have been foreign investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.Read more

by Zoe Ward

How to preserve the value of your apartment? Buy and sell every 10 years

If you want to maintain the value of your real estate investment, Attractors Lab President Yujin Oki suggests that you should change apartments every 10 years.

Why 10 years?

One reason is that our lifestyles tend to change every decade or so. For example, your home requirements will be different as you move through different phases in life such as being single, getting married and having a two-income household, having children, retirement and old age. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Akasaka Business Place sold

Daiwa Office Investment Corporation acquired Akasaka Business Place from Hakuba Capital 1 TMK (Angelo Gordon's SPC) for 9.2 billion Yen (approximately 92 million USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward