Family-type apartments shrinking in size as prices reach upper limits

September 4, 2014Real Estate News,All

The typical family-sized 3-bedroom apartment in Japan is said to be around 70 sqm (753 sqft), but it is now becoming increasingly common to see developers offering family-type apartments in the 50 ~ 60 sqm (538 ~ 645 sqft) range. With rising construction and land prices, developers are shrinking apartment sizes in order to keep sale prices within the budget of their target buyers.

This month, Secom Homelife will begin sales of family-oriented apartments in Suginami-ku, Tokyo. 3-Bedroom apartments in Glorio Eifukucho Izumi will be 57 ~ 59 sqm (613 ~ 635 sqft) in size and priced in the 60 million Yen range. 2-Bedroom apartments start from 42 sqm (452 sqft). If apartments in this building were 70 sqm in size, they would need to be priced over 80,000,000 Yen - above the budget of most buyers.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment sales in August 2014

September 3, 2014Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Tokyo

Tokyo Apartment Sales in August

The following is selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of August 2014:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Mizuho Bank to offer home equity loans

September 2, 2014Real Estate News,All,Home Loans / Mortgages

Mizuho Bank are now offering home equity loans of up to 10 million Yen to home owners. Mizuho is the first of Japan’s three mega-banks (Mizuho, MUFJ and SMBC) to offer a home equity financing.

Interest rates are floating and were 2.975% in August. This rate is lower than their rates for personal loans. Customers of Mizuho with existing home loans may receive a rate of 2.675%.

Loans range from 1 ~ 10 million Yen and will be determined based on the equity in the property and the borrower’s financial position. Borrowers can use the funds freely, but cannot put them towards company capital or the purchase of financial products.

Sources:
The Nikkei Shimbun, August 21, 2014.
The Sankei Shimbun, August 21, 2014.
Mizuho Bank Home Equity Loan page

by Zoe Ward

Google launches disaster prevention map for Tokyo

September 1, 2014Earthquake Information,Living in Tokyo,All,Tokyo

Tokyo Hazard Map
Fire hazard map for Tokyo

Google’s Crisis Response Team have released a disaster prevention map for Tokyo. The map shows the various risk levels for building collapse, fire and evacuation hazards, as well as the location of evacuation zones, public pay phones and tsunami evacuation buildings.

Zones are based on data supplied by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The local government has provided this data online for several years, but the link up with Google Maps has provided a much easier user interface.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Warou Flat - Azabu’s oldest rental apartments

August 29, 2014Historic properties in Japan,Azabudai,Warou FlatHistoric Properties,All,Tokyo

Warou Flat Tokyo 4

Just a short walk from the bustling Azabu/Roppongi area there exists several pre-war apartments. Warou Flat is a small group of western-style rental apartments built between 1930 ~ 1937. There were originally five buildings, but only three remain. The buildings have been carefully maintained over the last 77 years and have so far managed to escape redevelopment. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tax breaks and better home loan rates to boost Japan's second-hand home market

August 28, 2014Japan Property TaxesReal Estate News,Renovations,All,Home Loans / Mortgages

Journal Standard Renoveru 2
A renovated apartment in Kawasaki City by Renoveru (a collaboration between Journal Standard Furniture and ACME).

As part of a plan to support and boost the market for used homes, the Japanese government is considering introducing measures to encourage lower interest rates on mortgages that include a component for renovations as well as tax benefits for buyers of older homes.

Although there is growing demand from consumers for relatively cheaper existing homes, more than half require some form of work such as earthquake-retrofitting or upgrades to make them barrier-free for older occupants. It is hoped that easier financing will encourage more consumers to consider older homes and reduce the number of vacant homes across the country.

Expanding the Flat 35 Home Loan

The Japan Housing Finance Agency’s ‘Flat 35’ home loan offers interest rates from as low as 1.69%. Although the loan can be used for both new and old properties, it may soon be expanded to provide additional financing for renovation costs at the time of purchase.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Severe shortage in Tokyo apartment supply not necessarily due to high demand

August 27, 2014Tokyo property marketNew Construction,Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Tokyo

Rising construction costs and project delays are causing the supply of new apartments in the greater Tokyo area to plummet. In 2013, the total number of brand new apartments to hit the market dropped 23.8% from the previous year to 56,478 apartments.

From August 1, MUFJ, SMBC and Mizuho Bank lowered the prime rate on their 10-year fixed rate home loans to a record low 1.3%. While long-term interest rates are showing signs of falling, the recent rise in the consumption tax rate has led a drop in housing starts as well as a drop in sales of new apartments. Banks are now competing to attract borrowers.

While new apartment sales have slowed, they still remain at healthy levels. The contract rate on new apartments in June was 76.6%. Although this was a decline of 5 points from June 2013 and 2.3 points lower than the previous month, it is still above the level of 70% which is considered the threshold for healthy sales.

What is worrying, however, is the drop in supply. According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 3,503 brand new apartments were offered for sale in the greater Tokyo area in June 2014, down 28.3% from June 2013 and down 18.5% from the previous month. This level is very close to the last low of 3,441 apartments offered for sale in June 2011 (a few months after the 2011 Tohoku disaster). Read more

by Zoe Ward