Kobe Airport land not selling
Blocks of commercial land on the man-made Kobe Airport Island are not selling as well as expected. In 2011, not a single parcel of land was sold.
Construction of the island was financed through the issuance of municipal bonds, and the city planned to repay the bonds by selling off blocks of land to various enterprises.Read more
Bad news for Tokyo slumlords
As concerns grow over the number of aging vacant houses that pose a risk to the surrounding neighborhood, local wards and cities have begun to introduce regulations that will pressure owners into either repairing or demolishing their derelict properties.
-- Assistance of up to 1 million Yen --
Tokyo's Adachi-ku is densely crowded with wooden-frame houses and small workshops. Much of the area is considered to have a high fire hazard. Adachi-ku was the first ward in Tokyo to enact rules that obligate owners of dilapidated houses to either repair or demolish them. In the event of demolition, the ward will provide up to 1 million Yen (12,000 USD) in aid. Already, two buildings have been demolished under this new rule.Read more
Town in Fukushima demands 19.2 billion Yen in compensation for lost real estate
The town of Futaba, which fell within the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant, is demanding 19.2 billion Yen (234 million USD) in compensation from TEPCO for the loss of use of the town's real estate.
The town is claiming damages for loss of use to town-owned land, government buildings and schools. There are a total of 51 unusable buildings that were mentioned in the claim. A representative from TEPCO said this was the first time they received a real estate related claim from a town or city.Read more
Same day sell-out in Terrace Shibuya Mitake
All apartments made available for sale during the first round of sales for brand new condominium "Terrace Shibuya Mitake" have sold out on the same day.
On March 10, the 90 apartments listed for sale received 197 applications. The average number of applications to apartments was 2.18, and the highest was 13 on one apartment.
Apartments ranged in price from 37.8 to 184 million Yen and the average price is 1,381,000 Yen/sqm (1565 USD/sqft). The average age of the applicants was 49.5 years and their average income was 19 million Yen per year (232,000 USD).Read more
Resort development activity picking up in Hokkaido
Resort development activity is starting to accelerate in Hokkaido as the region begins to see a rebound in foreign tourist numbers.
Construction is scheduled to start on a large-scale resort in the Uenae area in Tomakomai City this June. The 1000 hectare site will include a hotel, horse-riding and trekking facilities. Aman Resorts Group's GHM (Singapore) are tentatively scheduled to be the hotel operator. The development is being designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando and will be completed in 2014. They are targeting wealthy foreign tourists. The total investment is estimated at 13 billion Yen (158 million USD).
*Update: Aman's 'Chedi' brand of hotels is scheduled to operate the hotel. "The Chedi Tomakomai" is now scheduled to open in 2017.
*Update 2: Mori Trust acquired the site in 2016 and will start construction on a resort in 2017 with completion expected in 2026.Read more