The "World's Oldest Manga Cafe" to close down
September 10, 2011Demolition,Earthquake Information,Other News
Manrakuen Comic Paradise is a Japanese Manga-Kissa (a comic book library and cafe) near Jinbocho Station in Tokyo where customers pay 400 year per hour to sit and read from the collection of over 20,000 comic books.Read more
Office vacancy rates and vacant floorspace down in August
September 9, 2011Japan Office,Tokyo Office Market,Tokyo Office RentOffice/Retail News & Information,Real Estate News,Market Information
Sanko Estate released their "Office Market" data report for high-rise office buildings with a floor plate of 660sqm or higher in Tokyo's central 5 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) for the month of August, 2011. According to their data, the vacancy rate for August was 5.66% - down 0.45% from July.Read more
Average apartment management fees increased by 3.3%
September 8, 2011Real Estate News,Market Information
According to the most recent survey by the Real Estate Economic Institute, the average monthly management fee for an apartment in greater Tokyo was 223.72 Yen/sqm in 2010, an increase of 3.3% from 2009.Read more
95% of apartments in Waterras Tower Sold Out
September 3, 2011New Construction,Real Estate News
Sales of apartments in the still under-construction Waterras Tower Residence in Chiyoda-ku have been very strong with offers made on 95% of the 182 apartments offered for sale during the first sales period in August, 2011.
Approximately 30% of the sold apartments were priced over 100 million Yen (1.3 million USD) with the most expensive apartment priced at 300 million Yen (3.9 million USD). The average apartment price is 1,225,000 Yen/sqm (1478 USD/sqft). Over 1200 people visited the model room on August 22nd and there were over 6000 requests for property sales material.Read more
Kawasaki apartment block to be rebuilt after construction defects discovered
August 28, 2011Toa Corporation,Daikyo,Kawasaki Apartments,Lions MansionBuyer Beware!,Demolition,Real Estate News
A 7-storey apartment building in Kawasaki City is due to be demolished and rebuilt after construction flaws were recently discovered that compromize the integrity of the structure.
A routine building inspection in 2009 uncovered gaps inside the beams and pillars of the building, as well as styrofoam and wood mixed in with the concrete pillars and walls. There were also fewer reinforced bars in the concrete than the construction blueprints indicated.Read more
Land price movements for Japan for 2nd QTR announced
August 28, 2011Japan land valuesLand,Real Estate News,Market Information
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced the land price movements for Japan on July 1st, 2011.
Of the 146 surveyed sites across Japan, land values for 7 sites increased, 53 sites saw no change and 86 sites saw a decline in values.
Compared to the previous report issued on April 1st, 2011, just following the Tohoku Disaster, it appears that land values are starting to stabilize.Read more
Prices of apartments on secondary market continue to fall
August 26, 2011Real Estate News,Market Information
According to real estate information and consulting agency, Tokyo Kantei, the average price for an apartment on the secondary market in the greater Tokyo area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama) in June, 2011, was 29.75 million Yen (386,000 USD). This is a fall of 3.5% from a year earlier and a fall of 0.7% from the previous month.Read more