Commercial standard land prices in Japan’s big cities increase for 4th year in a row
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced this year’s Standard Land Prices on September 20.
Nationwide, land prices declined for the 25th year in a row with a 0.6% decrease, although the rate of decline is slowing. Meanwhile, commercial land prices stopped their downwards trend for the first time in 9 years.
Land prices in Japan’s urban centres of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya continued to benefit from booming foreign tourist numbers, redevelopment and infrastructure projects, shrinking office vacancy rates, and monetary easing.
Commercial land prices in these three cities increased by 2.9%, representing a fastening pace after 2.3% growth in 2015 and 1.7% growth in 2014. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, commercial land prices increased by 4.1% in 2016, after a 3.3% increase in 2015. In Osaka city, they were up 4.7% this year.Read more
Land in Ginza sells for 43 million Yen/sqm
In August, railway operator Hankyu Corporation acquired a block of vacant land in Ginza for 13.5 billion Yen (approx. 132 million USD). The purchase price worked out to be approximately 43,700,000 Yen per square meter (40,000 USD/sq.ft), or around 4,500,000 Yen per buildable square meter (4,100 USD per buildable square foot) based on a potential 3,000 square meter building.
The 308.88 square meter (3,323 sq.ft) corner block of land is located alongside Namiki Dori Avenue. It was originally the site of the 10-storey Tokyo Chusha Building, which had a total floor area of 3,000 square meters (32,280 sq.ft). The building was demolished in 2015.
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City suing for ownership of ancient tomb in Osaka
Fujidera City in Osaka Prefecture has filed a lawsuit seeking the transfer of ownership of land containing a 1,500 year-old ancient tomb.
Called a ‘kofun’, the ancient tomb is part of the Mozu and Furuichi Kofun-gun group of tombs constructed between the 3rd and 7th century AD in the Osaka area. The city is hoping to have the tombs registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and owning the land would help to ensure its protection and preservation.Read more
Average apartment rent in August 2016
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in greater Tokyo was 2,661 Yen/sqm in August, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 2.7% from last year. The average apartment size was 60.26 sqm and the average building age was 19.7 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average monthly rent was 3,223 Yen/sqm, up 2.5% from the previous month and up 1.4% from last year. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average apartment age decreased from 18.3 years to 17.6 years, which contributed to the increase in the average rent from the previous month. The average apartment size was 57.73 sqm.Read more
New apartment supply in Tokyo down for 9th month
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 1,966 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in August, down 40.7% from the previous month and down 24.7% from last year. This is the 9th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline in supply.
1,310 apartments were sold, resulting in a contract ratio of 66.6%, up 3.3 points from the previous month but down 7.7 points from last year. 435 apartments in high-rise buildings (over 20-storeys) were released for sale, down 1.6% from last year. The contract ratio was 73.1%, down 12.2 points from last year.
The average price of a new apartment across greater Tokyo was 56,620,000 Yen, up 0.1% from the previous month but down 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 798,000 Yen, down 1.0% from the previous month and down 3.2% from last year.Read more
Abandoned Maya Hotel may soon be open to the public
Closed and off-limits to the public for the past 23 years, the overgrown and abandoned Maya Kanko Hotel overlooking Kobe City may soon be accessible on guided tours. Local groups have obtained permission from the property owner and are in the process of preparing hiking trips.
The art deco hotel was built atop Mt. Maya in 1929 by the Maya Cablecar Company. It was originally called Maya Club and was developed in conjunction with the company’s cable car line. The four-storey hotel offered sweeping views over the city and bay below.Read more
Declining yields sought by investors are pushing up property prices
In late 2013, Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, purchased the Kengo Kuma-designed Tiffany Ginza Building for 32 billion Yen, resulting in a cap rate of just 2.6%. This sale arguably triggered the onset of lower cap rates. Back in 2006, Japan’s REITs had expected returns in the 2% range. They had increased to the 4% range by early 2013, but are now back to the 2 ~ 3% range.Read more