Tepco to sell apartment building in Nagoya

January 22, 2012Tepco,NagoyaReal Estate News,2011 Tohoku Disaster

As part of their restructuring in order to pay compensation to victims of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster, Tepco will be selling an apartment building they own in Nagoya City.

"Solcher Tsurumai" is a 14-storey, 2 basement apartment complex that was built in 1999. It has a total floor area of 22,000 sqm and is on a 3500 sqm site. There is a supermarket on the 1st floor and residential units from the 2nd floor and above. Tepco purchased the building in 2001 through their subsidiary, Toden Real Estate.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Radiation found in foundations of new home

January 21, 2012Radiation,Fukushima PrefectureBuyer Beware!,All,2011 Tohoku Disaster

On January 19, the Mayor of Nihonmatsu City announced that concrete used by the contractor for the recently discovered contaminated apartment building (article here) has also been used in a recently built home, and new recent reports indicate that the gravel from the quarry has been used in at least 50 homes and apartment buildings, and over 1000 different construction projects throughout the prefecture. A further 7 tons of gravel were shipped to Tokyo.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Chiba's population declines for the first time in recorded history

January 19, 2012Tokyo population,Japan population,Chiba PopulationAll

Chiba Prefecture's population has declined for the first time since record keeping began in 1920. Although the total population of greater Tokyo, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, increased last year, certain districts within the greater area are beginning to see the start of a natural decrease in population.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japanese home loan approval process becoming more difficult

January 18, 2012Real Estate News,Market Information,All

The thorn in the side of the apartment market recovery

In March, 2011, the risk of holding real estate was actualized when the earthquake caused liquefaction alongside Tokyo Bay and led to a temporary period of restrained buying. Although the events of March will not soon be forgotten, there are signs that buyers are starting to return to the market with several new projects attracting a large number of inquiries and achieving good sales.Read more

by Zoe Ward

How to buy your own island in Japan

January 17, 2012Japan Islands for SaleLand,Other Properties,All

Japan is said to have over 6,852 islands, of which 430 are uninhabited. With the exception of the disputed islands, Japanese islands are typically freehold and can be purchased and sold by private individuals.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Average apartment rent in 2011

January 16, 2012average rent japan,average rent tokyoReal Estate News,Rental Market,Market Information,All

Tokyo Kantei announced the average apartment rent across Japan's three major metropolitan areas - Greater Tokyo, the Kinki region (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara) and the Chubu region (Aichi, Nagano, Shizuoka, etc). Tokyo and Chubu both saw a fall in the average rent, but the Kinki region saw an increase of 2.4% in 2011. Compared to the average rent of 1622 Yen/sqm/month in 2009, the rent in the Kinki region has increased by 6.5% over the past 2 years. This is said to be the result of an increase in newer apartments from 2010.Read more

by Zoe Ward

High radiation levels from concrete in new apartment building

January 15, 2012Fukushima,Radiation,NihonmatsuBuyer Beware!,All,2011 Tohoku Disaster

On January 15, the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters and the Nihonmatsu City Council in Fukushima Prefecture announced that radiation levels of 1.24 microsieverts/hour were detected in a brand new 3-storey apartment building in the city. The levels exceed the radiation levels found outdoors and residents from the 1st floor of the building have been advised to move elsewhere.Read more

by Zoe Ward