Banks to reduce home loan rates in September

Four of Japan’s major banks announced that they will be reducing interest rates on new home loans this month.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ will reduce the prime rate on their 10-year fixed-rate home loan by 0.05 points to 0.75%. Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Resona Bank will also reduce the rates on their 10-year fixed-rate loans by 0.05 points. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will leave their rates at their current level of 0.70%.Read more


Japan's short-stay law to be delayed 6 months

Those hoping to rent out their home legally on a short-term basis in Japan may have to wait a little longer as the government has delayed the de-regulation of the home sharing market until June 2018. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the reason for the delay is to allow more time for local governments to formulate their own rules regarding the maximum number of nights permissible each year.

The government passed a law allowing short-term letting of homes and apartments in June 2017, with the rules initially expected to go into effect from January 2018.
Read more


Supply of new apartments shrinking as developers struggle to secure land

In the midst of a recovering property market, Japan’s top real estate developers are struggling to find suitable plots for residential projects, causing supply to shrink and sales volumes to fall.

The total value of real estate available for sale by the country’s top five developers as at the end of June 2016 was 3.107 trillion Yen (approx. 28 billion USD), down 0.4% from March and the first time in 9 quarters to record a decline. Increasing land prices and intense competition has meant that even though demand for real estate remains high there are fewer projects on offer.Read more


Onsen and retail complex near new Toyosu Fish Market in jeopardy

The operator of a planned onsen, hotel and retail center to be built next-door to the Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo has announced that they may withdraw their plans due to concerns about feasibility. The proposed ‘Senkaku-banrai’ center would include a 24hr hot spring bath, hotel and 200 restaurants and stores, with a forecast for 1.9 million annual visitors.

Read more


Home builder introduces 9-storey home to their line-up

In an industry first, PanaHome is now offering a 9-storey home for landowners who want to maximize the use of their land.

The suggested layout for the ‘Vieuno9’ high-rise home includes retail space on the ground floor, office and rental apartments on the lower floors, and the owner's residence on the upper floors. The steel-frame structure allows for ceiling heights of up to 4 meters on the ground floor and 3.14 meters on the top floor, with mid-floors having generous ceiling heights of 2.84 meters.

In 2016, housing starts for multi-storey dwellings (between 3 ~ 9 floors) reached 43,530 units nationwide, an increase of 7.8% from 2015. 82.5% of these homes were located in the Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka belt where land prices are typically high while lot sizes are small. The Tokyo metropolitan area accounted for 30.6% of these housing starts.Read more


REIT acquisitions exceed rosenka values by 2.61 times

The average value of real estate acquisitions made by J-REITs between 2012 and 2017 has exceeded the rosenka tax value by approximately 2.61 times. In 2016 and 2017, office buildings and hotels in central Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and around Narita Airport have been purchased by REITS at as much as 5 ~ 15 times their rosenka value.Read more