Govt relaxes rules on building demolition voting rights and floor-area-ratios

June 20, 2014Real Estate News,Redevelopment & Reconstruction,All,Laws and Lawsuits

Palace Akasaka

The Japanese House of Councillors have voted in favour and passed a revision to the apartment redevelopment law which will now allow an apartment building association to sell their building and land with approval from 80% of the apartment owners, rather than the previous requirement of 100%.

In addition, the maximum allowable floor-area-ratio (yosekiritsu) will be relaxed.

These changes will hopefully encourage the redevelopment of ageing and potentially dangerous buildings that do not meet current earthquake-resistant standards.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in Tokyo down 5.1% from last year

June 19, 2014New Construction,All

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 4,300 new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in May, up 73.9% from the previous month but down 13.4% from May 2013. This is the fourth month in a row to see a year-on-year drop in the supply of new apartments.

3,392 apartments were sold over the month, making the contract rate 78.9%. This is 4.2 points higher than the previous month and 0.8 points higher than last year. According to REINS, 2,638 secondhand apartments were sold in May.

The average new apartment price was 51,560,000 Yen, up 6.4% from the previous month and up 5.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 722,000 Yen, up 2.7% from the previous month and up 4.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

May rental data - Tokyo Kantei

June 18, 2014average rent tokyoReal Estate News,Rental Market,All,Tokyo

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo was 2,621 Yen/sqm in May, down 0.6% from the previous month but up 3.6% from last year. This is the first time in three months that the month-on-month change in rent has declined. The average apartment size was 59.17 sqm and the average building age was 18.4 years.

The average rent in Tokyo’s 23-ku was 3,197 Yen/sqm, down 0.2% from the previous month but up 3.6% from last year. This is the first time in six months to see a month-on-month drop in rent. The average apartment size was 56.28 sqm and the average building age was 16.5 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Real estate transaction volume up 72% in 2013

June 17, 2014Office/Retail News & Information,Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Tokyo

Real estate transactions in Japan saw a sharp improvement in 2013, with the total volume increasing by 72% from 2012 to 4.108 trillion Yen (40 billion USD). With expectations of improving rents, REITs and foreign funds have been more active in the market. There has also been activity from large companies moving into their own buildings as a means to keep rental costs down. The rise in transaction volume has been a driving force behind the recent  rise in land prices.

The annual volume, however, still remains below the peak of 6 trillion Yen seen during the mini-bubble in 2007. Following the Lehman Shock, or global financial crisis, in 2008, the market took a dive. By 2011, the transaction volume had dropped to 1.5 trillion Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japan Property Central is open for business

June 16, 2014All

Japan Property Central K.K. is proud to announce the launch of its real estate brokerage which will cater exclusively to buyers looking to purchase real estate in Tokyo.

The transition to a fully licensed real estate company is a natural next step for Japan Property Central, which has been providing information on the Japanese real estate market since 2010.Read more

by Zoe Ward

High-rise apartment supply to improve

June 13, 2014New Construction,Real Estate News,All,Tokyo

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute’s report on the high-rise apartment* market, there 252 residential high-rise development projects currently in the pipeline across Japan. Of those, 173 buildings containing 70,235 apartments (75% of the total) are planned for the greater Tokyo area, and 47 buildings with 15,689 apartments are planned for the Kinki region. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment sale prices and transactions down from last month

June 12, 2014Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Tokyo

According to REINS, 2,638 secondhand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 5.3% from the previous month and down 14.2% from May 2013. This is the second month in a row where transaction numbers have fallen below levels seen 12 months prior. 

The average apartment sale price across greater Tokyo was 26,560,000 Yen, down 1.2% from the previous month but 3.3% higher than last year. The average price per square meter was 413,400 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous month but up 3.1% from last year. The average building age was 19.82 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward