Chongryon HQ sale decision delayed
The Tokyo District Court has extended the decision deadline regarding the sale of the foreclosed North Korean Chongryon Headquarters in Tokyo. The court was expected to announce their decision on October 22, but a lack of information on the buyer, Avar Limited Liability Corporation, means the court needs more time to determine whether or not they are in a position to go through with the purchase.
Avar bid 5.01 billion Yen (approximately 51 million USD) for the 10-storey building in Chiyoda-ku.
Information on the mysterious buyer is still vague. Investigations by media outlets discovered that the company was created in January 2013 with a capital investment of just 60,000 Yen. Mongolian tax officials have no record of Avar paying taxes or insurance premiums. The business is registered to an apartment in Chingeltei, Ulaanbaatar. Neighbors say that the apartment was owned by the father of Avar's director, but he moved out several years ago. The current resident claims to have never heard of the company. Read more
Japan's apartment market over the last 40 years
The Real Estate Economic Institute recently published a report on the condominium market in Japan over the last 40 years. Here are some of the highlights:
- Apartment prices are now 3.5 times higher. The average apartment price nationwide in 1973 was 10,860,000 Yen. In 2012 it was 38,340,000 Yen. In greater Tokyo the average price was 11,710,000 Yen in 1973. In 2012 it was 45,400,000 Yen. Read more
First resort condominium to be developed in Kinugawa, Nikko, in 20 years
The Kinugawa River Side Residence will be the first condominium to be built in Nikko's Kinugawa onsen resort area in almost 20 years.
It hasn't been a smooth journey for this particular development. The original developer - Zephyr - had completed construction up to the 3rd floor before filing for bankruptcy in July 2008. The bare concrete structure sat empty for the next five years until Yokohama-based developer Daiwa Jisho Group purchased the building and land and resumed construction in May 2013. Read more
New apartment sales in September surge before consumption tax increase deadline
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 5,968 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in September, up 77.3% from last year and up 44% from the previous month.
Of those, 4,986 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 83.5% in greater Tokyo. This is an increase of 14.2 points from last year and 2.0 points from August.
The number of new apartments offered in high-rise buildings over 20 storeys was 1,949, up 810.7% from last year. The contract rate was 89.9%, up 27.3 points from last year.
Yaesu Fujiya Hotel to be redeveloped
The Yaesu Fujiya Hotel by Tokyo Station will close at the end of March 2014 as the Kokusai Kogyo Group plan to sell the building and land to Sumitomo Realty & Development in April.
Sumitomo are expected to demolish the hotel and redevelop the site into an office building.
Mysterious foreign co. buys Chongryon HQ
The Tokyo District Court announced that the winning bidder of the foreclosed Chongryon headquarters / North Korean de-facto embassy building was a foreign-owned company called Avar LLC.
The court is now assessing the financial viability of Avar's 5.01 billion Yen bid and will make an official decision on the sale on October 22.
*Update: The decision deadline was extended for unknown reasons. On October 21, a citizen's group filed a petition with the district court alleging that Avar is a fictitious company.Read more
Shoto Noh Theatre may be on the market
The owners of the Kanze Noh Theatre in Shoto, Shibuya, are looking into selling the building and land. The head of Yodobashi Camera is a possible buyer, having reportedly expressed an interest to redevelop the property into a private guest house to accommodate his foreign visitors.Read more