New apartment supply drops for 5th month in a row
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 1,978 brand new condominiums were released for sale in greater Tokyo in April, down 26.6% from the previous month and down 13.5% from last year. This is the 5th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline in supply, and is 20% lower than the Institute’s estimate.
1,313 apartments were sold, resulting in a contract ratio of 66.4%, down 1.2 points from the previous month and down 9.1 points from last year.
175 apartments in high-rise buildings (over 20-storeys) were offered for sale, down 1.7% from 2015. The contract ratio was 49.7%, up 11.5 points from last year.
The average price of a new apartment across greater Tokyo was 57,510,000 Yen, up 2.0% from the previous month and up 8.4% from last year. This is the 11th month in a row to see the prices exceed those from 12 months prior. The average price per square meter was 826,000 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 9.0% from last year.
The total stock of unsold apartments was 5,881 units, down 158 units from the previous month but up 974 units from April 2015.Read more
Resort areas dominate Japan’s apartment stock ratios
It might be easy to assume that central Tokyo would have the highest concentration of apartments in Japan. However, the capital is ranked 4th nationwide with the top 3 spots going to ageing resort towns.
Tokyo Kantei ranked the cities and towns in Japan that have the highest percentage of apartments as a share of total households.
In top spot is the ski town of Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture, which has 4 times as many apartments as it does households. In 2015, the town had 14,369 apartments and 3,501 households. 92.1% of the town’s 14,000 apartments are resort-type apartments.Read more
Tokyo metro apartment prices increase for 43rd consecutive month
According to REINS, 3,294 second-hand apartments were sold across the greater Tokyo area in April 2016, down 8.2% from the previous month but up 17.3% from April 2015. March is typically a busy month for transactions, so it is normal to see a drop in transactions in the following month.
The average sale price was 29,170,000 Yen, down 4.6% from the previous month but up 3.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 465,000 Yen, down 2.7% from the previous month but up 4.4% from last year. This is the 40th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price on a per square meter basis. The average building age was 20.46 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,653 second-hand apartments were sold, down 8.5% from the previous month but up 20.0% from last year. The average sale price was 36,380,000 Yen, down 3.5% from the previous month but up 4.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 628,000 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous month but up 5.1% from last year. This is the 43rd month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 19.13 years.
875-room hotel complex planned for Roppongi
APA Group, a major Japanese developer and hotel operator, has acquired a hotel development site in Roppongi 2 Chome in central Tokyo.
The 1,800 sqm site is located a 6 minute walk from Roppongi Station and a 3 minute walk from Roppongi Itchome Station.
The project will result in a total of six ‘APA Hotel’ branded hotels to be built along the stretch of land fronting onto Roppongi Street. One of the hotels, the APA Hotel Roppongi Itchome Eki-Mae, is already completed and operating. The additional five hotel buildings will result in 875 hotel rooms.Read more
Shiba Daimon Gate returned to original owner after 138 years
After 138 years, the Shiba Daimon Gate in downtown Tokyo has been returned to its rightful owner - Zojo-ji Temple.
The temple has been requesting that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government return the gate since 1974. However, the city was unable to find any records showing that they were the current owners of the property, which meant that they could not legally transfer the property. As a result, the issue stood at a standstill for almost four decades.Read more
Mori moving forward with two long-awaited projects in Roppongi
Mori Building is moving ahead with two major high-rise redevelopment projects in the Roppongi and Azabu/Toranomon districts - the Roppongi 5 Chome Redevelopment and the Toranomon-Azabudai Redevelopment.
Both projects are likely to become landmark buildings and may contain a mix of office, retail, entertainment and luxury apartments. Completion could be as early as 2022.Read more
Consider earthquake resistance when buying real estate in Japan
Nowadays Japan has some of the most rigid earthquake codes, however that wasn’t always the case and older buildings may be more susceptible to earthquake damage than some buyers realise.
Picking a location
Choose a property on solid ground.
Properties on reclaimed land, flood plains, former lakes, ponds, riverbanks, rice fields, or marshes are more susceptible to collapse and tilting from liquefaction. Even newer homes may not be protected from the danger of being built on soft soil.
Building age
Choose a property built after June 1981.Read more