Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - April 2014
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in April was 5.4%, down 0.1 points from March. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 7.2%, down 0.1 points.
The vacancy rate remains unchanged at 9.9% across Minato-ku and 11.0% across Tokyo.
The average asking price of a secondhand apartment in Minato-ku was 781,143 Yen/sqm as of April 1, up 0.1% from the previous month. The average asking price for land was 1,113,333 Yen/sqm, up 4.6%.Read more
Growing market for secondhand apartments, but concerns linger
Despite the preference that Japanese have for all things new, secondhand apartments are growing in popularity and more and more developers are getting involved in renovations and apartment flipping.
According to REINS, 36,432 secondhand apartments were sold in greater Tokyo in 2013, up 16% from the previous year. Over the same period, 44,886 new apartments were sold, up 29% from 2012.
There are three main reasons for the recent growth in the secondhand apartment market: Read more
The Tower Yokosuka Chuo 60% sold
All 150 apartments offered in the first round of sales in The Tower Yokosuka Chuo condominium sold out in early March. An average of 1.3 applications were made on each apartment, with the most popular apartment receiving 4 applications.Read more
Fault discovered in Kawasaki apartment building
In what looks to be a disturbing trend, another apartment building under construction has been found to have a serious defect. It was announced on March 31 that a high-rise condominium in Kawasaki City would be partially demolished and rebuilt after cracks were found on concrete pillars on the fourth floor.
Construction had reached the 7th floor when it was discovered that the extra load of the floors was putting too much strain on the 4th floor structural columns causing them to crack and split. Read more
Karuizawa's vacation home market on the rebound
The upscale summer resort area of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture is seeing its property market rebound as a growing number of older residents from greater Tokyo are move in. In 2015 the extension of the bullet train line will connect Karuizawa with the Hokuriku region, making the area an even more convenient destination.
While the rest of the prefecture is still dealing with sluggish land values, the increase in demand for vacation homes in Karuizawa has started to push land prices upwards.
The town approved 338 holiday homes in 2013, up 9% from the year before. Read more