MUFG to offer reverse mortgages

March 6, 2014Real Estate News,All,Home Loans / Mortgages

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) will begin offering reverse mortgages this month.

While the majority of reverse mortgages in Japan are only based on the value of the land (due to the low value given to older buildings), MUFG's mortgages can also apply to homes and apartments.Read more

by Zoe Ward

1 in 8 households in Japan live in an apartment

March 5, 2014Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Osaka,Tokyo

According to Tokyo Kantei, 11.94% of households in Japan live in a condominium apartment. The Tokyo metropolitan area has the highest percentage with 25.90% of households living in apartments.

  • Tokyo: 25.90%
  • Kanagawa Prefecture: 22.17%
  • Osaka: 18.20%Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment prices in January - Tokyo Kantei

March 4, 2014Tokyo apartment pricesReal Estate News,Market Information,All,Osaka,Nagoya,Tokyo

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sqft) second-hand apartment in Tokyo's 23 wards was 41,080,000 Yen in January, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 4.2% from January 2013. The average apartment age was 20.6 years.

In central Tokyo's six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average apartment price was 55,680,000 Yen, up 1.4% from the previous month and up 8.1% from last year. The average apartment age was 20.9 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Cabinet decision to reduce voting ratio to sell apartment building & land

March 3, 2014Property Purchasing Guide,Real Estate News,All,Laws and Lawsuits

The Cabinet has approved a reform to the apartment redevelopment law which will lower the voting ratio required before an apartment building and land can be sold. Previously, 100% of apartment owners had to be in agreement before the building and land could be sold, but the revision will reduce this ratio to 80%. 

It is hoped that the loosening of the regulations will encourage the demolition and redevelopment of ageing buildings and reduce the number of buildings at risk of collapse in an earthquake. It could also open up opportunities for developers to re-purpose the use of the land from residential to commercial.

The decision will be submitted to the ordinary session of the Diet in mid-March and could be enacted within 6 months.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japanese homeowner in US Navy housing suing Japanese Government

February 28, 2014Yokohama,NegishiReal Estate News,All

Yokohama Negishi Heights 1

Living in a gated estate with high security might be considered desirable to some, but to one Japanese family in Yokohama it has been a nightmare. 

A Japanese couple who own a house and land located within the US Navy's Negishi Heights Housing Complex in Yokohama are suing the Japanese government for 115 million Yen damages after suffering a lifetime of inconvenience and hardship caused by the various hassles that come with living in an armed forces compound. Oral proceedings are scheduled for February 28 in the Yokohama District Court. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Minamiaoyama land sold for 13 billion Yen

February 27, 2014Minato-ku,Minami AoyamaLand,Real Estate News,All,Tokyo

Meiji Jisho, a company affiliated with Cerberus Capital Management, has sold a 1,916 sqm block of land in Minamiaoyama 3 Chome to Shimizu Corporation. The deal is estimated to be around 13 billion Yen (6,785,000 Yen/sqm). 

The land is currently a parking lot and fronts onto Aoyama Dori Avenue.

An adjoining 2,500 sqm site was sold by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) in March 2013 for 5.6 billion Yen (2,240,000 Yen/sqm). It was reported that the buyer was City Index Seven - related to the Murakami Fund. UR's landholding is more scattered with private roads and a smaller street frontage.

Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kitakyushu modernist buildings at risk of demolition

February 26, 2014Modernist Architecture in Japan,Kitakyushu,Togo Murano (Architect)Demolition,Historic Properties,Real Estate News,All

Yahata City Meeting Hall Yahata Library
Left: Yahata City Meeting Hall; Right: Yahata Library

Two buildings designed by modernist architect Togo Murano are at risk of demolition as the rising maintenance costs are proving too much for the city's finances. The Yahata City Meeting Hall (1958) and Yahata Library (1955) are located in Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka.Read more

by Zoe Ward