Tokyo's population growth areas
August 11, 2011Market Information
While the overall population of Japan is declining with rural areas suffering the most, the population in urban areas is growing as people move to larger cities to find work. In Tokyo City, the population increased in 2011 by 52,549 people to a total of 12,662,461 residents. While Tokyo's population is continuing to grow, the rate of growth is, however, slowing. For potential investors in Japanese property, obviously it is important to stick to areas that are growing and avoid the areas in decline.
Tokyo's Koto-ku and Minato-ku saw the largest increase in population over the past year, while other areas in Tokyo such as Kita-ku and Nakano-ku saw a net decrease in population.Read more
100 billion Yen redevelopment project for Toyosu area
August 11, 2011Reclaimed land,Tokyo Bay,Toyosu,Koto-kuNew Construction,Office/Retail News & Information
Mitsui Fudosan will be embarking on a large-scale redevelopment of Koto-ku's Toyosu area from next year. The 100 billion Yen (1.3 billion USD) project on one of Tokyo Bay's reclaimed islands will cover a 47,400 sqm site. The project will include two high-rise office buildings (31 and 22 stories) as well as retail facilities. Due to the nature of the site, measures will be taken to strengthen the ground against liquefaction and the building will be built using "seishin" (vibration-control) construction. Completion is scheduled for 2016 and Mitsui Fudosan will be contributing 90 billion Yen in capital.Read more
Foreclosed house in Shirokanedai, Minato-ku
August 10, 2011Foreclosed Tokyo,Japan Foreclosed Properties,ShirokanedaiForeclosed Properties
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
August 10, 2011New Construction,Office/Retail News & Information,Real Estate News
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
Mitsubishi Jisho Residence is the top apartment supplier in 2010
August 9, 2011Japan ApartmentsReal Estate News,Market Information
Market Economy Research Institute and the Real Estate Economic Institute announced the supply rankings of apartment developers across Japan for 2010. Mitsubishi Jisho Residence was the largest supplier of new apartments throughout Japan with a total of 6148 units - an increase of 121.2% from 2009.
In second place, Mitsui Fudosan Residential increased their supply by 17.3% to 5455 units. And in third place was Sumitomo Realty & Development who increased their supply by 15.3% to 4731 units. A total of 126 companies responded to the questionnaire sent out by the research institutes in May and June.Read more
Land purchases in tsunami-affected prefectures to be monitored
August 5, 2011Fukushima,Miyagi,Iwate,Japan landEarthquake Information,Real Estate News
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
August 5, 2011Yamanashi,Yamanashi real estate,Japan Foreclosed PropertiesBuyer Beware!,Foreclosed Properties
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