Local group wants to curb speculative investment in Kyoto apartments
A citizen’s group in Kyoto is campaigning for the city to introduce regulations to curb the recent speculative buying of apartments in the history city. On January 22, the Kyoto Community Development Citizen Association submitted a proposal to Kyoto City’s Town Planning Department seeking counter-measures against an overwhelming increase in real estate prices.Read more
Nakagin Capsule Tower to undergo earthquake-resistant inspection
The results of an earthquake-resistant inspection could soon determine the fate of Ginza’s Nakagin Capsule Tower.
At an owner’s association meeting in early December 2015, the majority voted in favour of carrying out an earthquake-resistance inspection to determine the structural integrity of the building. If the building does not meet earthquake codes, the owners will consider demolishing the 44-year old metabolist landmark.Read more
Temple to demolish 100+ yr old historic villa in Kyoto
The former holiday villa of the head priest of the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple is going to be demolished this month.
Sanya-so, located in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward, is a 10,000 sqm estate dating back the the late 1800s. In 1876, 21st head priest / Abbot Koson Otani (1850 - 1903) built a single-storey wooden house to be used to host guests. It had seven rooms and a tea house, and was situated on an elevated block of land overlooking Uji River.
In 1900 a new wing was built with four rooms. The new house was also single storey and had a total floor area of 360 sqm. It also featured floor heating, with steam piped through pipes that were installed under the floors.
The villa hosted several notable guests throughout the years, including Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate), Prince Ito Hirobumi (samurai and four time Prime Minister), and Field Marshal Prince Yamagata Aritomo (two time Prime Minister).Read more
Transactions of secondhand apartments in central Tokyo surge in January
According to REINS, 2,655 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in January, up 4.4% from the previous month and up 8.8% from last year. The average sale price was 29,870,000 Yen, up 4.3% from the previous month and up 6.7% from last year. The average price per square meter was 468,400 Yen, up 3.1% from the previous month and up 7.1% from last year. This is the 37th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in reported sale prices. The average building age was 20.26 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,292 second-hand apartments were sold, up 0.4% from the previous month and up 8.3% from last year. The average sale price was 37,120,000 Yen, up 3.8% from the previous month and up 11.7% from last year. The average price per square meter was 633,300 Yen, up 3.8% from the previous month and up 11.6% from last year. This is the 40th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 19.08 years.
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 170 second-hand apartments were sold, up 7.6% from the previous month and up 37.1% from last year. This is the highest number of transactions for the month of January since record-keeping began in 2008.Read more
Apartment construction boom around Nagoya Station area
The area around Nagoya Station has been seeing a surge in apartment construction from developers in recent years. The construction has been spurred by the the construction of the Chuo Shinkansen maglev line which will connect Shinagawa Station in Tokyo with Nagoya Station in Nagoya City in 2027. The high-speed rail will reduce the travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya from the current 94 minutes down to 40 minutes.
The station area, which has suffered from flood damage in the past, has not always been a desirable place to live, but the new construction is sparking a gentrification of the old neighbourhoods.Read more
High-rise planned for Omotesando former public housing site
The Aoyama Kitamachi Apaato, a city-operated public housing complex located on a prime 40,000 sqm site in the centre of Omotesando, is going to be replaced with a 20-storey high-rise apartment building.
The current site includes 25 public housing blocks containing a total of 586 apartments. They were built between 1957 and 1968 and are now in various stages of ageing and deterioration. The 4 and 5 storey buildings do not have elevators, and some of the earlier buildings did not have bathrooms (in those days the residents would have gone to local bathhouses).
Since 2006, Tokyo City has been slowly vacating the tenants in preparation of redevelopment. Almost half of the apartments are vacant, while remaining residents gradually move out.
Demolition is scheduled to start in 2017, and completion is expected in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics.Read more