Apartment rent falls again in November
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average apartment rent in Japan's three largest cities fell again in November.
In greater Tokyo, the average monthly rent fell 0.7% from the previous month to 2533 Yen/sqm. This is the fourth month of continual decline. In Tokyo City, rent fell by 0.6% to 2924 Yen/sqm. Kanagawa Prefecture saw the average monthly rent rise by 1.1% to 2044 Yen/sqm.Read more
New plan requiring land risks to be explained before sale
The Japan Association of Home Suppliers has announced plans to require a site geography and history report to be presented to the buyer prior to the sale of a home.
There are approximately 100 home builders who are members of the Association. The committee chairman, also company president of Mita Housing, said that following the Tohoku disaster they had received an increasing number of inquiries from clients concerned about the liquefaction risk and strength of the ground. He believes that providing a geography and history report for each property would provide help to ease the concerns of buyers. Mita Housing is about to introduce this new reporting system into their own business, and many other real estate companies also have plans to do so.Read more
Kengo Kuma designs Starbucks store
Japanese modern architect, Kengo Kuma, has designed a Starbucks Coffee store for Dazaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The new store is located along the road that leads to the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine and is scheduled to open on December 16, 2011.Read more
Nomura's Proud Tower Shinonome sells out on 1st day of sales
In what appears to be good news for developers on Tokyo's bay area, all of the apartments in Nomura Real Estate's Proud Tower Shinonome Canal Court that went on sale this Monday received purchase applications on the same day.
The 52-storey, 600 unit residential tower is located on a reclaimed island on Tokyo Bay, an area that suffered from a drop in popularity following the March 11 Tohoku disaster due to its liquefaction risks.Read more
1927 Kudanshita Bldg to be demolished
The 85-year old Kudanshita Building in Kandajinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, will soon be demolished once the last remaining occupant moves out.
Kudanshita Bldg is a multi-tenant building in Kandajinbocho, Chiyoda-ku. It's original name was Imagawakouji Cooperative Building. Completed in 1927, the Kudanshita Building is one of Tokyo's landmark buildings completed during the reconstruction following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The local shopkeepers whose premises were destroyed in the earthquake had pooled their savings together to construct this building. At the time they were each given an ownership share of the property.Read more
Tokyo office market showing further signs of slowing
The central Tokyo office building market is stagnating. At the end of November, the office vacancy rate for Tokyo's central 5 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) reached 8.90%. This is the second continuous month with an increase in vacancy rates and the first time since April, 2011, that rates had reached this level. Meanwhile, the average office rent for central Tokyo has declined for the 39th continuous month.
With the Euro crisis and strong Yen, there is a deceleration in demand from tenants with many companies being more prudent and delaying moving. The demand for buildings with high disaster preparedness and earthquake resistance has slowed.Read more
First historical listing for Oiso Town
The former Kinoshita Villa alongside Sagami Bay has been registered as a tangible cultural property. The house has been recognized for its contribution to the historical scenery of the area. This is the first listing for Oiso, and the 157th listing for Kanagawa Prefecture. Read more