Japanese investors heading offshore following March 11

The president of Stasia Capital wrote about the recent changes in investment strategies made by wealthy Japanese and how the events of 2011 created a turning point in the mindset and actions of Japanese investors.

--Inward facing Japanese investors--

Over the past 20 years, private Japanese investors have been relatively wary of investing overseas, but in the past 2 ~ 3 years, private investors began to shift their funds overseas.

This is due to:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Danchi reconstruction cancelled due to liquefaction

Reconstruction plans for the Sodegaura Danchi public housing project in Chiba's Narashino City have been put on hold as the recent liquefaction in the area caused by the March 11 Tohoku earthquake has deterred potential buyers for apartments in the new project.

The Sodegaura Danchi was built in 1967 and has 250 units. It is built on reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay and is a 45 minute drive from central Tokyo. A 3-bedroom apartment in the complex can be rented for as low as 60,000 Yen/month (780 USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Is 2012 the time to buy?

Good news for those waiting to buy an apartment. From next year, the inventory of unsold apartments is expected to reach high levels, which could result in more bargain buys.

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the sales contract rate for new apartments in September, 2011, had rebounded to 78%. In actuality, that degree of sales may not actually be true. The president of Attractors Lab said that the 'sales contract rate' is not entirely accurate because it does not include apartments that were held back from being released for sale.

In January, 2011, the Institute forecast an inventory of 50,000 apartments for the year. However, this was later reduced to an estimate of 45,000 apartments. The impact of the March 11 Tohoku disaster led many developers to delay apartment sales. By September, the actual supply was down to 28,000 units. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Vacant home owners at risk of punishment

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there were 7,570,000 empty homes across Japan in 2008. Poorly maintained properties pose fire and crime risks and can also be a hazard in a natural disaster. However, there are currently no yet nation-wide laws to deal with such potentially dangerous properties.

Instead, individual cities and prefectures are starting to introduce their own "Vacant House Regulations" to combat this problem. Last year, a total of nine cities and/or prefectures including Tokorozawa (Saitama), Matsui (Shimane) and Wakayama Prefecture introduced such regulations. A further 9 areas ranging from Tohoku to Kyushu also have plans to enact similar ordinances. Read more

by Zoe Ward

On Sale: Park Court Roppongi Hilltop

The first round of sales for Mitsui Fudosan Residential's "Park Court Roppongi Hilltop" begins on November 26. The 27-storey tower will have a total of 270 apartments, of which 213 will be made available for purchase. Apartments range in size from 45 to 152 sqm (484 ~ 1635 sqft) and are priced from 57.8 to 420 million Yen (750,000 ~ 5.45 million USD). The average apartment price is 1,400,000 Yen/sqm, which is slightly lower than the average price of other nearby modern apartments, while the penthouse apartments are priced at 2,685,000 Yen/sqm.

This is officially the first condominium building in Tokyo to be recognized as a "long term superior housing" development.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Shizuoka Town creates 1000-yr tsunami hazard map

Following the March 11 Tohoku disaster, a coastal town in Shizuoka Prefecture has decided to create a special tsunami hazard map based on a hypothesized once-in-a-thousand-years tsunami.

Yoshida Town is in south-west Shizuoka and faces Suruga Bay. Although it is protected by a 6 meter breakwater, a tsunami of over 8 meters is now thought to be possible. The last major tsunami to hit the town was a 5~6 meter wave caused by the 1854 Ansei Tokai Earthquake.

Under the supervision of an associate professor from the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, the special map will be based on an earthquake of the same class as the 1498 Meio Nankaido Earthquake which had an estimated magnitude of 8.6 and caused a large tsunami in Suruga Bay and at Kamakura. Using historical records, the estimated height of the tsunami in Yoshida was 8.6 meters.Read more

by Zoe Ward

[Demolished] The Kodera Residence, Kobe

This spanish-style villa in Kobe City was originally the home of Kansai University Professor, Keiichi Kodera. Designed by William Merrell Vories and completed in 1931, it was considered to be one of the top three finest examples of his work. The other two include the Oumigishi Residence in Osaka and the Toshiba Takanawa Club in Tokyo. The 3-storey home was constructed out of reinforced concrete, red spanish roof tiles and white plaster walls and was built by Takenaka Corporation.Read more

by Zoe Ward