New housing starts down 2.3% in 2018
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), there were 942,370 new housing starts across Japan in 2018, a 2.3% drop from 2017 and the second year in a row to see a decline.
40% stake sold in The Ritz Carlton Kyoto
The Sekisui House Reit has acquired 40% joint ownership of the trust beneficiary rights to the The Ritz Carlton Kyoto for 17.8 billion Yen (approx. 160 million USD). The sale took place on January 31 and the seller was the Reit's sponsor, Sekisui House.
Shinjuku’s 65-storey twin tower apartment project gets town planning approval
On March 15, Shinjuku ward issued town planning approval for the Nishi Shinjuku 3 Chome West District Redevelopment. This project includes two 65-storey, 235 meter tall apartment towers that will be the tallest purely-residential towers in Japan based on total floor count and the second largest development based on total unit count.
Regional residential land prices increase for first time since 1992
Something that is on every local investor and real estate agent’s calendar is the announcement of the koji-chika assessed land prices by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This year’s results came as no surprise to those in the industry, with average land prices increasing for the fourth year in a row. A 1.2% increase nationwide was reported in 2019, a 0.5 point increase from 2018.
Thai developer to invest further 100 billion Yen in Hokkaido ski resort
On February 4, Thai real estate developer Property Perfect announced plans to invest 100 billion Yen in their Kiroro Resort in Hokkaido over the next 10 years. The plans include expanding their ski facilities and building new luxury villas.
Mitsui to open luxury hotel in front of Nijo Castle
On February 7, Mitsui Fudosan released details on a luxury hotel planned for the eastern side of Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
Apartment transactions up in February
According to REINS, 3,484 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in February, up 30.6% from January and up 1.8% from last year. The average sale price was 34,730,000 Yen, up 5.4% from the previous month and up 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 531,600 Yen, up 3.3% from the previous month and up 3.8% from last year.