Using the right agent to sell your property

July 31, 2013All

While you may put a lot of effort into finding the right property to buy, when it comes to selling many will entrust everything to the broker. But putting too much faith into your broker can sometimes be a bad thing.

Before picking a broker, it is essential that you do some homework.

"When listing my apartment, I met with several brokers and went with the one that gave me the highest market evaluation. It was an exclusive contract with a three month term. Each week, however, the broker would call to report that they had no inquiries. Eventually they said that a larger apartment in a nearby building recently sold at a much lower price and that I needed to drop my asking price considerably.

After having a look at comparable properties on the market, I realised that, despite the sales pitch by the broker, my apartment's initial asking price was far too high. At the end of the three month's I switched to another broker and finally sold the apartment at a more reasonable price."

-- A 49-year old seller in Tokyo

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by Zoe Ward

Areas where property prices are likely to outperform Japan's inflation target

July 30, 2013Real Estate News,Market Information,All,Tokyo

With the Bank of Japan's governor Haruhiko Kuroda setting a 2% inflation rate target within the next two years, which locations are more likely to receive the benefits of inflating asset prices and which areas are not?

In July 2002, Nikkei Business published a special feature on the 'real estate revolution' as Japan's property market was reaching a turning point. The feature stressed the importance of looking at the investment returns on all types of real estate and introduced the reporting of rental returns by train station.

More than 10 years have passed since the original article, and the Japan appears to be at another turning point.Read more

by Zoe Ward

The Jingumae Residence 84% sold

July 29, 2013Jingumae,Omotesando Real Estate,The Jingumae ResidenceNew Construction,Real Estate News,All,Tokyo

The Jingumae Residence, a recently completed condominium near Omotesando, has seen a surge in sales in the first half of 2013.

The sales office and showroom opened in January 2012. Of the 148 apartments available for sale, only 60 were sold in 2012. By mid-2013, a total of 125 apartments had sold, leaving 23 apartments remaining for sale. Approximately 15% of the buyers have been foreign investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.Read more

by Zoe Ward

How to preserve the value of your apartment? Buy and sell every 10 years

July 27, 2013All

If you want to maintain the value of your real estate investment, Attractors Lab President Yujin Oki suggests that you should change apartments every 10 years.

Why 10 years?

One reason is that our lifestyles tend to change every decade or so. For example, your home requirements will be different as you move through different phases in life such as being single, getting married and having a two-income household, having children, retirement and old age. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Akasaka Business Place sold

July 26, 2013Akasaka Real EstateOffice/Retail News & Information,Real Estate News,All,Tokyo

Daiwa Office Investment Corporation acquired Akasaka Business Place from Hakuba Capital 1 TMK (Angelo Gordon's SPC) for 9.2 billion Yen (approximately 92 million USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment prices in June - Tokyo Kantei

July 25, 2013japan apartment price,Tokyo apartment pricesReal Estate News,Market Information,All

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sqft) second-hand apartment in Tokyo's 23-ku in June was 39,720,000 Yen (397,000 USD), up 0.3% from last month and 0.7% higher than June 2012.

Across greater Tokyo, the average price was 27,700,000 Yen (277,000 USD), up 0.4% from last month but down 2.7% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Be wary of apartments advertised by celebs

July 22, 2013Buyer Beware!,All,Tokyo

One real estate expert is suggesting that buyers be cautious of buying into new developments that use actors, musicians and sports stars to advertise their apartments.

According to journalist Atsushi Sakaki, if a condominium is in a good location and priced in line with the market then it shouldn't need a fancy marketing campaign to appeal to buyers.

A glitzy and flash marketing campaign may sometimes be used to draw attention away from some of the drawbacks of the development. Eg. it may be in a less desirable area, priced too high or too large in scale to achieve strong sales. Read more

by Zoe Ward