Tokyo metro apartment prices increase for 44th consecutive month
According to REINS, 3,001 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 8.9% from the previous month and down 0.2% from last year. The average sale price was 29,910,000 Yen, up 2.5% from the previous month and up 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 469,700 Yen, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 3.7% from last year. This is the 41st month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price on a price-per-square-meter basis. The average building age was 20.64 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,503 second-hand apartments were sold, down 9.1% from the previous month but up 3.4% from last year. The average sale price was 36,950,000 Yen, up 1.6% from the previous month and up 2.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 625,900 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 2.1% from last year. This is the 44th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 19.84 years.
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 178 second-hand apartments were sold, down 6.3% from the previous month and down 5.3% from last year. The average sale price was 58,090,000 Yen, up 18.0% from the previous month and up 8.3% from last year. The average sale price per square meter was 1,043,400 Yen, up 9.4% from the previous month and up 4.4% from last year. The average building age was 17.23 years.Read more
Demolition of philosopher’s home in Kyoto starts this week
Demolition of the former home of philosopher Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945) started earlier this week. Nishida, founder of the Kyoto School of philosophy, rented the traditional Japanese house from 1912 ~ 1922. It is 500 meters north-west of Kyoto University, where he was a professor.
The 2-storey, wooden house was built in the later part of the Meiji era (1868-1912) as a rental property, with the landlord living nearby. The deteriorated condition of the 100+ year-old house was cited as the reason for demolition. It is expected that it will be replaced with apartments.
Ehime ‘Castle’ up for public auction
A 5-storey ‘castle’ in the outskirts of Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, is up for public auction this month with a minimum bid set at 39,240,000 Yen (approx. 370,000 USD).
The property is a run-down former love hotel designed to resemble a traditional Japanese castle. The 2,600 sqm (27,800 sq.ft) hotel was built in the 1980s, but has been closed since the early 2000s. It is located on a 15,000 sqm block of land across the road from a pond and golf course, and a few hundred meters from several housing subdivisions.Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - June 2016
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in Tokyo was 4.4% in June 2016, up 0.2 points from the previous month but down 0.3 points from last year. The average yield across Tokyo was 6.2%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and down 0.5 points from last year.
The average asking price for a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 979,942 Yen/sqm as of June 1, up 0.9% from the previous month and up 14.3% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,391,818 Yen/sqm, up 1.2% from the previous month and up 14.8% from last year.Read more
Historic Kudan Kaikan to be replaced with high-rise building
There are plans to convert the historic Kudan Kaikan building near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo into a 75-meter tall office building. Tenders will soon be open to developers, with the requirements that proposals include retaining parts of the historic facade or at least attempting to recreate the facade, and for a new building with a height of no more than 75 meters.Read more
Landowner suing Osaka City for bomb disposal fees
A landowner in Osaka is fighting the city over the disposal costs of an unexploded ordnance (UXO) unearthed during construction. The property owner filed a civil suit in the Osaka District Court seeking the reimbursement of the 5,760,000 Yen in bomb removal fees.
In March 2015, a 1.8 meter long American-made bomb weighing 1,000kg was found buried two meters underground in an apartment construction site in the Namba area. A 300-meter evacuation radius was established while the Self-Defense Forces removed the bomb. As many as 2,200 residents had to temporarily evacuate, and the nearby Nankai Main Train Line had to stop operations for a three hour period. Read more