Singapore property group opens hotel in Kyoto
Singapore’s Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited opened their first hotel in Japan on November 16. The ‘Noku Roxy’ is located near the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds and just above Marutamachi Station.
Roxy acquired the existing 21-year old hotel, formerly called the ‘Tokyu Hotel Harvest Kyoto’, in October 2014 and have refurbished the interior and exterior. The property had previously been acquired by Ken Corporation in January 2014. Read more
Construction scandal shakes new apartment sales in October
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,921 new apartments were released for sale in October, up 20.2% from the previous month but down 6.5% from last year. This is the second month in a row to see a decline in supply from the previous year and has been attributed to both an increase in prices as well as the discovery of a faulty condominium in Yokohama last month which has caused turmoil in the real estate industry. Before news broke of the construction mishap, the Institute were predicting 3,500 apartments to be offered for sale in October. Although Autumn is typically a period of heavy sales activity by developers, the sales of several projects were delayed due to the uncertainty following the Yokohama apartment scandal. Only one large-scale project (a building containing over 100 units) went on sale in October, down from four large-scale projects last year.
A researcher from the Institute said that visitor numbers to apartment show rooms were relatively flat, and it is possible that developers will continue to delay sales until consumer confidence in the new apartment market improves.
2,010 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 68.8%, up 2.8 points from the previous month and up 5.5 points from last year.
475 apartments in high-rise buildings (over 20 storeys) were offered for sale, up 36.5% from last year. The contract rate was 79.8%.
The average price of a brand new apartment released for sale in greater Tokyo was 53,640,000 Yen, down 0.5% from the previous month but up 17.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 759,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 19.0% from last year.Read more
Chiyoda to see new record-setting luxury condominium
Average price: 2,680,000 Yen/sqm (2,035 USD/sq.ft)
*Update: This building has sold out as of September 2016*
Chiyoda’s Bancho area is about to see another record-setting condominium go on sale next month. Branz The House Ichibancho is currently under construction in Ichibancho. The second round of sales is scheduled to start in early December. 5 apartments will be offered for sale, ranging in price from 275 ~ 540 million Yen (2.25 ~ 4.41 million USD). Prices per square meter will range from 2,257,000 ~ 3,084,000 Yen (1,700 ~ 2,325 USD/sq.ft).
The 3-Bedroom apartments range in size from 121 ~ 175 sqm (1,302 ~ 1,883 sq.ft). Despite the large size and the high price, the apartments only have 1 bathroom each, with no bathroom for the master bedroom. It is quite common for condominiums in Japan to have only one bathroom as developers continue to build for the domestic market only.
The 12-storey building will contain 56 apartments, of which 48 will be offered for sale. Completion is scheduled for November 2016, with apartments ready for delivery to buyers from the end of January 2017.Read more
Condominium in Tokyo has construction permit revoked just prior to completion
A 8-storey condominium in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, has had its construction certificate revoked due to having inadequate emergency stairs. The building was less than 2 months away away from completion and the 100+ apartments had already been sold to buyers off-the-plan.
To further complicate things for the developer, local building height limits have since been reduced which means that even if the developer corrects the evacuation exits, the top two floors of the building may need to be removed in order to obtain a new building permit. Height limits in this neighbourhood were reduced from 27 meters to 22 meters in 2014.Read more
Hyogo-based company starts boutique historic hotel brand
In early October a Japanese association called NOTE opened up a series of historic hotels in the Sasayama Castle Town in Hyogo Prefecture. The boutique hotels are located in traditional and historic Japanese homes that have been carefully restored. NOTE currently has 11 hotel suites in four buildings in the town, and operates them under their NIPPONIA Sasayama Castle Town Hotel brand. They have also converted a former bank (c1934) in Toyooka into a hotel, restaurant and cafe.
NOTE is a Sasayama-based association that was established in 2009 with the purpose of reinvigorating rural areas through restoring old and vacant houses, promoting tourism and supporting local businesses. The food served in the hotel restaurants, for example, is sourced locally to support the town’s farmers, while staff are hired locally where possible.
NOTE is aiming to have 10 hotels in operation by the 2020 Olympics.Read more
Tokyo apartment prices increase for 37th consecutive month
According to REINS, 2,877 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in October, up 3.8% from the previous month and up 8.4% from last year. The average apartment sale price was 29,480,000 Yen, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 4.8% from last year. The average price per square meter was 458,000 Yen, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 5.2% from last year. The average building age was 20.32 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,415 second-hand apartments were sold, up 1.9% from the previous month and up 8.9% from last year. The average sale price was 36,860,000 Yen, up 2.2% from the previous month and up 6.0% from last year. The average price per square meter was 619,100 Yen, up 1.1% from the previous month and up 5.9% from last year. This is the 37th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 19.30 years.
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 179 second-hand apartments were sold, up 14.7% from the previous month and up 14.7% from last year. The average sale price was 57,220,000 Yen, up 7.8% from the previous month and up 10.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 1,039,800 Yen, up 1.5% from the previous month and up 11.8% from last year. The average building age was 16.55 years.
Sale prices per square meter in central Tokyo are now up 50.6% from the most recent bottom seen in November 2012. Read more
Park Court Akasaka Hinokicho The Tower sells-out despite record-high pricing
All apartments initially offered for sale in the Kengo Kuma-designed Park Court Akasaka Hinokicho The Tower, currently under construction near Tokyo Midtown, have sold out during the first stage of sales held over the past weekend. The building is now 93% sold. Over 1,000 bookings were made to visit the sales office's showroom in the lead up to the first round of sales.
Prices started from 155.6 million Yen (1.26 million USD) for a 57 sqm (613 sq.ft) 1-Bedroom unit, up to 1.5 billion Yen (12.2 million USD) for a 203 sqm (2,184 sq.ft), 3-Bedroom penthouse apartment. With a price of 7,354,000 Yen/sqm (5,500 USD/sq.ft), the 203 sqm apartment could possibly be the most expensive apartment to go on sale in Japan since the bubble era of the 1980s. Even penthouse apartments in Roppongi Hills have only reached 4 ~ 5 million Yen/sqm in recent years, while apartments in the Toranomon Hills complex are around 4 million Yen/sqm. Despite the strong pricing in the building, only the 203 sqm penthouse unit has two full bathrooms, while the rest of the apartments in the building have 1 bathroom each.Read more