Shibuya City Office redevelopment under review
The redevelopment of the Shibuya City Office and Shibuya Public Hall (C.C. Lemon Hall) is under review due to a potential cost blowout. A shortage of skilled construction labour and rising material costs have caused the estimated construction costs to increase by around 30 ~ 50%.Read more
October rental data - Tokyo Kantei
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo was 2,602 Yen/sqm in October, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 2.8% from last year. This is the first time in four months that the rent has exceeded 2,600 Yen/sqm. The average apartment size was 60.20 sqm and the average building age was 19.2 years.
The average monthly rent in Tokyo’s 23-ku was 3,233 Yen/sqm, up 0.8% from the previous month and up 4.9% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.74 sqm and the average building age was 17.4 years. Starting with Tokyo’s central 6 wards, almost all areas in the 23 wards have been seeing either stable or strong growth in rent.
Yokohama City is seeing a continued downwards trend. In Kobe City, the average building age increased from 19.9 years to 21.3 years, which caused a corresponding drop in average rent.Read more
No bidders for Nara Dreamland
The foreclosed Nara Dreamland amusement park in Nara City failed to attract a single bid when it was put up for public auction on November 11. The 297,000 sqm site was listed for sale with a minimum price of 730 million Yen (6.3 million USD). Although ten inquiries were received, no bids were made.
Too expensive?
With a minimum price of around 2,400 Yen per square meter, this might seem like an exceptional bargain when compared to the surrounding area, but the park is dotted with a number of overgrown and unsafe structures and rides which would require several hundred million Yen to remove.
The land is also subject to a number of strict building regulations that make redevelopment a difficult task. The land falls in an Urbanisation Control Area and current uses only permit welfare, sports, museum, zoo or school facilities. Approval from the prefectural governor is required before construction.
Housing, commercial, retail or hot spring development is not allowed. It is also within two kilometres of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Todai-ji temple and Kofuku-ji temple), which means the land is designated as a scenic and conservation zone under the Act for the Preservation of Ancient Capitals. As a result, building heights are limited to 10 meters, while building-to-land ratios are limited to 30%. Nara’s mayor said the city has no intention to provide any allowances on the construction regulations.Read more
Apartment transactions down for 7th month while prices continue to rise
According to REINS, 2,655 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in October, down 9.6% from the previous month and down 13.4% from last year. This is the 7th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline. The average apartment sale price across grater Tokyo was 28,120,000 Yen, up 2.2% from the previous month and up 8.0% from last year. The average price per square meter was 435,300 Yen, up 2.5% from the previous month and up 8.3% from last year. The average building age was 19.47 years.
1,299 second-hand apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, down 8.8% from the previous month and down 10.2% from last year. This is also the 7th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline. The average apartment sale price was 34,780,000 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 7.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 584,600 Yen, up 2.9% from the previous month and up 8.8% from last year. The average building age was 18.07 years.
In Shinjuku, Shibuya, Suginami and Nakano-ku, the average sale price per square meter increased by 20.8% from 12 months ago to 785,000 Yen/sqm, while the average building age was 19.28 years (down from 21.42 years in October 2013).Read more
Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - November 2014
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in November was 5.3%, up 0.3 points from the previous month but down 0.5 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.9%, showing no change from the previous month but down 0.7 points from last year.Read more
Hope fades for historic Yokohama warehouse as demolition begins
Despite the best efforts of architects and historians from across the country, the owner of the Former Mitsui Bussan Yokohama Warehouse in downtown Yokohama is pushing ahead with demolition.
On November 5, a notice was posted outside the 104-year old building indicating the start of demolition. The building will be completely razed by mid-February 2015. The owner, Tokyo-based real estate and expat leasing company Ken Corporation, has ignored pleas from various preservation groups.
The Former Mitsui Bussan Yokohama Warehouse was designed by Oto Endo and built in 1910. Endo was a pioneer in designing reinforced-concrete buildings and this was one of the earliest structures in Japan to incorporate RC in the construction. He also designed the adjoining Mitsui Bussan Yokohama Office Building in 1911, which was the first building in the country to be built entirely out of reinforced concrete. The two buildings formed an important part of Yokohama’s silk trade, and the warehouse was used for the storage of silk.