Buying real estate in Kamakura - a quick overview of building restrictions
Located between the mountains and sea, Kamakura is an ancient city located 50 km south of Tokyo. The city came to prominence in the 12th century when it was home to the Kamakura Shogunate. Unlike some of the more urban cities in Japan, Kamakura has retained much of its traditional character. The city is characterised by its traditional streetscapes, numerous temples and shrines, and lush mountainside. In fact, 40% of the city is forest and greenery.
Nowadays, much of this character is preserved through numerous strict building and zoning codes enforced by the city, along with efforts by local residents.Read more
Forecast of new apartment prices for next 10 years
According to a medium-term forecast by the Japan Real Estate Institute, the price of brand new apartments in Tokyo’s 23 wards is expected to shift to a downwards trend from 2021. This would coincide with the release of the apartments built for the 2020 Olympics Athlete’s Village onto the market.
In 2016, the average price of a brand new apartment is expected to increase by 2.5% from 2015, with the price per square meter reaching 959,000 Yen/sqm. Prices are forecast to continue to increase over the next few years by around 0.2 ~ 1.2% annually, which is a slower rate than the 6.1% in 2014 and 8.9% seen in 2015.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in July 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2016:Read more
Luxury apartment sales dominating Japan’s property market
Recently a 300 sqm penthouse apartment with views of Tokyo Tower was reported to have sold for 1 billion Yen (approximately 9.5 million USD). The surprising aspect of the sale was that the apartment was one of several unsold developer-owned units in a building that was completed back in 2007.
The developer had tried for years to sell off the final remaining units after sales hit a slump following the global financial crisis in 2008. In late 2015, the developer re-started sales and has been able to sell some units at prices higher than pre-2008 levels.Read more
Hotel development boom in Karuizawa
Karuizawa, an upscale summer resort town in Nagano Prefecture, is seeing an increase in both the construction of new hotels and the refurbishment of existing properties. The opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line extension in March 2015 has further improved access for tourists, and has attracted the interest of several hoteliers who are planning new projects in the town.Read more
Illegal AirBnbs found operating out of semi-public housing
The Urban Renaissance (UR) Agency is cracking down on tenants who are illegally subletting their rental apartments to provide short-term accommodation to foreign tourists.
According to UR, as many as 80 rental apartments were found to be illegally sublet by tenants. The majority of the properties were in UR-operated buildings in Tokyo and Osaka. The agency became aware of the issue after receiving a growing number of complaints from residents reporting large numbers of foreigners with suitcases coming and going from apartments.Read more