Apartment prices up in Okinawa
Several high-rise residential buildings in Okinawa have seen an increase in re-sale prices over the past few years.
One of the recent residential developments, called RYU:X TOWER, sold out prior to completion. The twin tower condominium contains 676 apartments over 30 floors. The first tower was completed in 2013, and apartments have already been selling on the re-sale market for 10 ~ 25% higher than their price when new. Apartments can currently be found on the resale market for between 670,000 ~ 1,125,000 Yen/sqm. The second tower was completed in May 2015 and has already sold out. The most expensive apartment was priced at around 130 million Yen (1.07 million USD). This has been the largest condominium development in Okinawa to date.
Urtore Mihama is a 19-storey resort condominium in Chatan, and just south of the Kadena Air Base. The 421-unit complex was completed in 2010 at a time when Japan’s economy and property market was in a slump. Sales were off to a bad start at first, but saw an unexpected turnaround after the 2011 Tohoku Disaster led to an influx of families looking to move as far away from the Fukushima nuclear plant as possible. All apartments were eventually sold.Read more
Brillia Towers Meguro Sold Out
Brillia Towers Meguro, a large-scale, mixed office and residential project under construction near Meguro Station in Tokyo, has sold out this month. The project is scheduled for completion by late 2017 / early 2018.
The two residential towers will contain 940 apartments. 279 of those will go to original landowners, while the remaining 661 were made available for sale.
Sales began in early June 2015. The sales office had already received 23,000 requests for property brochures before the first round of sales. The model room, which opened in early April, could only be visited by appointment and was booked out two months in advance. Over 9,000 groups visited the model room.Read more
Omotesando: A look at the market and current sale listings
Omotesando is one of the most sought-after retail and residential addresses in Japan, and is the most in-demand location for our clients. It has a vibrant cafe and shopping scene, while also offering laid-back, quiet neighbourhoods filled with a mix of old and new homes, small boutiques, galleries and restaurants.
Unfortunately, being the most popular location means that supply is very limited, and becoming part of Japan's most fashionable neighbourhood means buyers are up against a lot of strong competition. Earlier this year a low-rise condominium in Minami Aoyama 5 Chome went on sale. The 20 apartments offered for sale received 193 offers from buyers, with one apartment receiving 63 offers. Apartments had an average price of around 2,300,000 Yen/sqm when new. The building, The Parkhouse Gran Minami Aoyama, is still under construction and will be completed in late 2016.
Pricing
Residential land in Omotesando ranges from 1,500,000 ~ 2,500,000 Yen/sqm for sites suitable for single homes. Expect to pay more the closer you get to the station.
The standard land price (kijun-chika) for a survey site located at Minami Aoyama 5-1-27 (near the Omotesando intersection) was 11,600,000 Yen/sqm in 2015, up 20.2% from 2014. Meanwhile, a residential site in Minami Aoyama 4-26-18 (near Nezu Museum) increased by 8.1% from 2014 to 1,470,000 Yen/sqm. Read more
Tsukiji makes World Monuments Watch List
Tokyo’s Tsukiji district was listed by the World Monuments Fund on their 2016 World Monuments Watch List. The district’s early 20th century architecture, which includes small two- and three-story wooden shophouses, is considered to be at risk due to the urban redevelopment that will occur after the relocation of the Tsukiji Fish Market.
The Tsukiji area is located just south of Ginza. It was largely reduced to rubble and burnt fields following the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, and the area’s neighbourhoods underwent a large re-shuffle. The fish market from Nihonbashi was relocated to Tsukiji and opened in 1935.Read more
Central Tokyo apartment asking prices up 17%
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in September was 31,590,000 Yen, up 1.4% from the previous month and up 11.9% from last year. This is the 13th month in a row to see an increase. The average building age was 22.4 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 49,130,000 Yen, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 16.5% from last year. This is the 15th month in a row to see an increase in prices. The average building age was 22.2 years.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average asking price was 69,210,000 Yen, up 1.3% from the previous month and up 17.0% from last year. The average building age was 20.6 years.
Kobe to restore 82-year old town hall
Kobe City will soon carry out earthquake-retrofitting work on the historic Kobe Municipal Mikage Town Hall. The hall will close in early 2016 and will reopen in 2017. Although it survived the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake, a building inspection in 2008 found that it did not meet current earthquake codes.
With the urging of local residents, the city plans to retain as much of the historic exterior and interior as possible. Retrofitting and repairs are expected to cost 1.597 billion Yen (13.2 million USD).Read more
Tokyo residential rents continue slow rise
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in greater Tokyo was 2,647 Yen/sqm in September, up 2.2% from the previous month and up 2.8% from last year. The leading cause of the increase in the rent was due to a large share (60%) of properties located in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The average apartment size was 60.27 sqm and the average building age was 19.0 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average rent was 3,182 Yen/sqm, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 3.2% from last year. The average apartment size was 57.51 sqm and the average building age was 17.3 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average rent was 3,326 Yen/sqm, up 0.4% from the previous month and up 3.7% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.93 sqm and the average building age was 16.7 years.
Average rents in Saitama, Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya were all down from last year.