New apartment prices in Sendai 20% higher than bubble era
New condominium prices in the Sendai area continue to surge, with the average price in the first half of 2015 increasing by 10% from the previous year to 42,620,000 Yen (343,000 USD). This price is now around 40% higher than pre-Tohoku earthquake prices and 20% higher than prices during Japan’s asset price bubble in the late 1980s.
Construction costs have increased following the disaster due, but the increase in prices has been met with an increase in demand and a relative shortage in supply of new construction.Read more
July 2015 rental data - Tokyo Kantei
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in greater Tokyo was 2,590 Yen/sqm in July, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 1.3% from last year. Transactions in the Tokyo metropolitan area represented a smaller share of the total, which resulted in a decline in the monthly average. This is the first time in six months that the average has dropped below 2,600 Yen/sqm. The average apartment size was 59.75 sqm and the average building age was 19.4 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average rent was 3,145 Yen/sqm, up 1.1% from the previous month and up 3.1% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.70 sqm and the average building age was 17.7 years.Read more
Home staging gaining traction in Japan
Home staging might be an option considered by sellers when trying to list their property for sale in overseas markets, but in Japan it has been a practice limited to showrooms for brand new developments, or for properties that are being flipped by real estate companies. Options for private sellers have been limited until recently.Read more
Japan’s high-rise apartment towers reaching due date for repairs
Earlier this year scaffolding went up around Saitama Prefecture’s tallest apartment building. The 17-year old building is one of the first high-rise residential buildings in Japan to undergo large-scale building repairs and maintenance, and more are expected to follow.
The 185m tall, 55-storey ‘Elsa Tower 55’ is located in Kawaguchi City, Saitama. It held the title as Japan’s tallest residential building between 1998 and 2004, and is still the tallest apartment building in the prefecture.
Due to the sheer size of the 650-unit building, exterior repairs are expected to take two years. The cost of the repairs and maintenance has been estimated at 1.2 billion Yen (9.7 million USD), which is around 1.8 million Yen (15,000 USD) per apartment.Read more
Central Tokyo apartment prices up again in July
According to REINS, 2,808 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in July, down 9.8% from the previous month but up 10.9% from last year. This is the 4th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in transactions.
The average apartment sale price was 28,680,000 Yen, down 1.6% from the previous month but up 9.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 452,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 10.2% from last year. The average building age was 20.53 years.
1,405 apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, down 11.0% from the previous month but up 14.5% from last year. The average sale price was 34,790,000 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous month but up 8.7% from last year. The average price per square meter was 602,800 Yen, up 1.1% from the previous month and up 10.7% from last year. The average building age was 19.87 years.
Sale prices in central Tokyo continue to break records
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 165 second-hand apartments were sold, down 4.1% from the previous month but up 33.1% from last year. This is the highest level seen for the month of July and about 34% higher than the average for the previous 7 years. Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - August 2015
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in August was 4.7%, showing no change from the previous month and down 0.6 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.5%, also showing no change from the previous month and down 0.5 points from last year.
The average asking price of a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 868,857 Yen/sqm as of August 1, 2015, up 1.3% from the previous month and up 9.7% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,234,848 Yen/sqm, up 0.7% from the previous month but down 3.3% from last year.Read more