Foreclosed house in Shirokanedai, Minato-ku
Court Evaluation: 204,370,000 Yen
*Update: The winning bid was 236,000,000 Yen. A total of 6 bids were made on the property and the winning bidder was a corporation.
The house is also being listed by real estate agents as a short sale with an asking price of 360,000,000 Yen (4.67 million USD), but it is unlikely that it will be sold prior to public auction at that price.Read more
Hokkaido announces new construction plans for their Tokyo Office
Hokkaido Prefecture's aging office building in Tokyo's Nagatacho 2 Chome area is going to be demolished to make way for their new mixed-use development. The new building will include a restaurant specializing in Hokkaido-farmed produce and will also house representative offices of Hokkaido companies.
Construction is scheduled to begin in June, 2012, and is expected to open in September, 2013. The new 7-storey building will have a total floorspace of 6700 sqm (72,092 sqft) and the land, which is owned by Hokkaido Prefecture, will be leased to the developers under a 70-year fixed term leasehold agreement.Read more
Land purchases in tsunami-affected prefectures to be monitored
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on August 1 that plans have been made to monitor land transactions made in tsunami-affected prefectures in Northern Japan. From now on, experts are predicting a sudden jump in prices for elevated land in the disaster-stricken areas, so the three affected Prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima will be monitoring and sharing the data of land transactions.
As the coastal areas that were devastated by the March tsunami move towards rebuilding, there is growing fear that the elevated tracts of land that escaped the tsunami will see steep price rises as real estate companies and developers seek to buy up the land.Read more
Owner of foreclosed property attempts to destroy building
The Tokyo Branch of the National Tax Agency (NTA) had seized an office building due to the owner's non-payment of taxes. Immediately prior to the public auction, the owner damaged part of the building and removed electrical wiring and the air-conditioning system and effectively rendered the building unusable. The auction was delayed for 3 months and re-listed at a lower price. According to the NTA, this is an unprecedented situation.
The empty 10 story building in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, was purchased in June, 2009, by a female operator of a nursing care company. The new owner planned to demolish the current building and develop an aged-care rental apartment complex, with a total estimated cost of 2 ~ 4 billion Yen (25.6 ~ 51.2 million USD). However, due to non-payment of taxes, the building was seized by the Tax Agency.Read more
Retro apartment in the heart of Omotesando
Price: 37,800,000 Yen SOLD
Location: Kita-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Price per sqm: 866,000 Yen
This vintage apartment just behind Omotesando Station has had a full renovation with new natural wood floors, all new water pipes, and new kitchen and bathroom. The renovation was planned by Keiji Ashizawa Design firm - their work is often featured in international design magazines such as Wallpaper, I.D. Magazine and Elle Decor.Read more