Brutalist church in Kyoto to be demolished

The former Karasuma Church in Kyoto is facing imminent demolition. The 5-story concrete building is a local landmark for its unusual design. 

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New development in Niseko sees strong sales

Sales in a new resort project in Niseko are off to a strong start with all villa lots sold. ‘Intuition’ is a condo-hotel and holiday home resort development by Hong Kong developer Zekkei Properties. 

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Luxury villas planned for Miura waterfront

A waterfront district down in Kanagawa’s Miura Peninsula is being pushed as a potential luxury resort targeting wealthy foreigners. A current development proposal includes villas and high-end condominiums that could include their own berths for mega-yachts along with 20-minute access by helicopter from Tokyo. The villas could range in size from 340 ~ 1,120 sqm (3,658 ~ 12,000 sq.ft).

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Japan's vacant house ratio reaches 13.6%

On April 26, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released their housing and land data as of October 2018. This survey is carried out once every five years. According to the report, the nationwide residential vacancy rate was 13.6%, a 0.1 point increase from 2013. The total number of vacant homes across Japan reached 8,460,000, an increase of 260,000 homes over the past 5 years. 

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New office supply in Tokyo to reach 1.72 million sqm in 2020

According to Mori Building’s latest office market report for Tokyo’s 23 wards, the office vacancy rate at the end of 2020 is forecast to reach 2.3%, a 0.3 point increase from the forecast for the end of 2019. This would be the second year in a row to see an increase in vacancy rates, although the level remains historically low. 

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Greater Tokyo apartment transactions reach highest level in history

In 2018, reported transactions of second-hand apartments across greater Tokyo reached the highest record in history. There were 37,601 sales reported for the year, up 1.2% from 2017. 

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