Don't hold your breath for the new Yamanote Line Station
Because it won't be open for another 10 years.
At the beginning of January newspapers were abuzz with news of a new proposed station on the Yamanote Loop Line, and many articles mentioned the potential rise in real estate prices for the area surrounding the proposed station.
But how realistic are these stories?
The proposed station will be between the Shinagawa and Tamachi stations, and if it does get the go ahead, it is still not expected to be open until at least 2020. Similar reports of a new station also made the rounds about eight years ago.Read more
Shinagawa apartment building to become an emergency evacuation shelter
A condominium apartment building in Tokyo's Shinagawa-ku will be the first residential building in Tokyo's 23 wards to be designated as an emergency shelter.Read more
Tepco to sell apartment building in Nagoya
As part of their restructuring in order to pay compensation to victims of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster, Tepco will be selling an apartment building they own in Nagoya City.
"Solcher Tsurumai" is a 14-storey, 2 basement apartment complex that was built in 1999. It has a total floor area of 22,000 sqm and is on a 3500 sqm site. There is a supermarket on the 1st floor and residential units from the 2nd floor and above. Tepco purchased the building in 2001 through their subsidiary, Toden Real Estate.Read more
Radiation found in foundations of new home
On January 19, the Mayor of Nihonmatsu City announced that concrete used by the contractor for the recently discovered contaminated apartment building (article here) has also been used in a recently built home, and new recent reports indicate that the gravel from the quarry has been used in at least 50 homes and apartment buildings, and over 1000 different construction projects throughout the prefecture. A further 7 tons of gravel were shipped to Tokyo.Read more
Chiba's population declines for the first time in recorded history
Chiba Prefecture's population has declined for the first time since record keeping began in 1920. Although the total population of greater Tokyo, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, increased last year, certain districts within the greater area are beginning to see the start of a natural decrease in population.Read more
Japanese home loan approval process becoming more difficult
The thorn in the side of the apartment market recovery
In March, 2011, the risk of holding real estate was actualized when the earthquake caused liquefaction alongside Tokyo Bay and led to a temporary period of restrained buying. Although the events of March will not soon be forgotten, there are signs that buyers are starting to return to the market with several new projects attracting a large number of inquiries and achieving good sales.Read more
Average apartment rent in 2011
Tokyo Kantei announced the average apartment rent across Japan's three major metropolitan areas - Greater Tokyo, the Kinki region (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara) and the Chubu region (Aichi, Nagano, Shizuoka, etc). Tokyo and Chubu both saw a fall in the average rent, but the Kinki region saw an increase of 2.4% in 2011. Compared to the average rent of 1622 Yen/sqm/month in 2009, the rent in the Kinki region has increased by 6.5% over the past 2 years. This is said to be the result of an increase in newer apartments from 2010.Read more