The cheapest rents in Tokyo by train station

April 9, 2012tokyo apartments for rentRental Market,All

Real estate listing site, SUUMO, have listed the top 10 areas around train stations that have the cheapest rent in Tokyo. Stations along the Toden Arakawa Line seem to dominate the listings, so tenants on a budget may want to look for places along this train line.

The average rent was calculated by the listings for Studios to 1-bedroom apartments on the SUUMO website as of March 14, 2012.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Nomura announces apartment price movements for April

April 8, 2012Tokyo Land Prices,Tokyo apartment pricesLand,Real Estate News,Market Information,All

Nomura Real Estate Urban Net announced the results of their survey on land and apartment price movements as of April 1, 2012. In greater Tokyo, the average price of both residential land and secondhand apartments fell 0.5% during the first quarter. On an annual basis, the price of residential land in greater Tokyo was down 2.8% (compared to a 2.0% decline from one year ago). Secondhand apartment prices fell by 3.1% over the year (compared to a 2.4% decline from the previous period).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kobe City sells part of Harborland to developer

April 7, 2012Kobe apartments,Kobe,Kobe HarborlandNew Construction,Real Estate News,All

Kobe City has sold part of the Kobe Harborland site to Itochu Corporation.

A 4200 sqm block of land in Higashi Kawasakicho 1 Chome was sold for 3.12 billion Yen (38 million USD). Itochu are planning to build a condominium on the site. Under the arrangement, the condominium will include a nursery school.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Muji Model House opened in Saitama

April 6, 2012Japanese House Design,Building a house in Japan,MUJIHome Design,All

Japanese household and consumer retail giant, MUJI, has designed a model house in conjunction with home-builder Okawa. The display home was opened on April 1 in Urawa-ku, Saitama City.

The house was designed to be long-lasting and flexible, so that it can be easily changed to adapt to changes in family structure and lifestyle. By 2015, both companies are expecting to be able to supply 500 MUJI-style homes annually.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Accommodation shortages creating headaches for businesses in Miyagi and Iwate

April 5, 2012Tohoku,Sendai City,Miyagi PrefectureReal Estate News,Rental Market,Market Information,All,2011 Tohoku Disaster

The disaster-hit Tohoku region is experiencing a severe shortage in rental accommodation and local real estate companies are hurting.

"Despite inquiries increasing day by day, we have no properties on our books. We have clients in our office but no properties to show them. Our revenues are plummeting." - President of a property management company in Sendai City.

The months of February and March are typically the busiest and provide the largest revenues for the company, however they currently have no vacant studio apartments and accommodation is severely limited.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Buying secondhand properties in Japan's deflationary environment

April 4, 2012Buying an apartment in JapanProperty Purchasing Guide,All

On March 22, the 2012 Koji-Chika assessed land values were announced. While the average land value had fallen for the fourth year in a row following the Lehman Shock, the rate of the fall had reduced slightly.

The MLIT reported that the 2011 Tohoku disaster caused the real estate market to stall temporarily, but indicated that there are signs we are in the early stages of a market recovery.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Ibaraki sells film set to NHK

April 3, 2012Ibaraki PrefectureReal Estate News,Sold Properties,All

The Ibaraki Prefecture Development Public Corporation has sold "Warp Station Edo" to NHK Enterprise for 113.4 million Yen (1.4 million USD).

Located in Tsukubamirai City, Warp Station Edo is a park and film set used for many historical-period dramas and movies.

It was built by the Prefecture in 2000 at a cost of 3.2 billion Yen and was first operated by "Media Park Tsukuba" - a joint venture between the Prefecture and the former town of Ina. However, after just two years into the park operations, a total of 800 million Yen in debt was incurred.  Operations were then handed over to Daishinto Group, and finally the Prefecture's public corporation took over. The debts continued to grow so the Prefecture decided to sell.Read more

by Zoe Ward