Commercial standard land prices in Japan’s big cities increase for 4th year in a row
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced this year’s Standard Land Prices on September 20.
Nationwide, land prices declined for the 25th year in a row with a 0.6% decrease, although the rate of decline is slowing. Meanwhile, commercial land prices stopped their downwards trend for the first time in 9 years.
Land prices in Japan’s urban centres of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya continued to benefit from booming foreign tourist numbers, redevelopment and infrastructure projects, shrinking office vacancy rates, and monetary easing.
Commercial land prices in these three cities increased by 2.9%, representing a fastening pace after 2.3% growth in 2015 and 1.7% growth in 2014. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, commercial land prices increased by 4.1% in 2016, after a 3.3% increase in 2015. In Osaka city, they were up 4.7% this year.Read more
City suing for ownership of ancient tomb in Osaka
Fujidera City in Osaka Prefecture has filed a lawsuit seeking the transfer of ownership of land containing a 1,500 year-old ancient tomb.
Called a ‘kofun’, the ancient tomb is part of the Mozu and Furuichi Kofun-gun group of tombs constructed between the 3rd and 7th century AD in the Osaka area. The city is hoping to have the tombs registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and owning the land would help to ensure its protection and preservation.Read more
Rosenka land values increase nationwide for first time in 8 years
According to Japan’s National Tax Agency, rosenka land values across Japan in 2016 increased by 0.2% from 2015. This is the first time to see an increase in the nationwide average since pre-global financial crisis in 2008.
Recent monetary easing measures, strong activity in the real estate market in central Tokyo and a surge in the number of foreign tourists are behind the increase in land prices.
Tokyo was in top place with an average increase of 2.9%. Land near the Kyukyodo Building in Ginza remains the most expensive land in Japan for the 31st year in a row. The rosenka land value in 2016 was 32,000,000 Yen/sqm (29,000 USD/sq.ft), up 18.7% from 2015 and has exceeded pre-Lehman Crisis pricing. This land reached a peak of 36,500,000 Yen/sqm in 1992, before dropping to 11,360,000 Yen/sqm in 1997.
Land alongside Omotesando Avenue in Tokyo had a rosenka value of 10,070,000 Yen/sqm in 2016, up 14.2% from 2015.Read more
Mitsubishi acquires Shibuya site for potential luxury condominium project
Mitsubishi Jisho Residence and Cosmos Initia have acquired a large development site near Shibuya Station. Details have yet to be announced, but industry insiders suggest that, given the size of the land, it could be slated for a luxury condominium project.
Update: The project is called The Parkhouse Shibuya Nanpeidai. Pre-sales for Hong Kong-based buyers began in September 2017, with prices starting from around 145 million Yen. The 10-storey building will have approximately 100 apartments with completion by May 2019 or later.
The 3,300 sqm (35,500 sq.ft) site in Nanpeidaicho is located near the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel and a 5 minute walk from Shibuya Station’s South Exit. It was purchased from Japan Tobacco for an undisclosed price estimated somewhere in the several billion Yen range. The site included a 5-storey office building which is currently being demolished.Read more
Japan's commercial land prices increase for first time in 8 years
For the first time in 8 years, commercial land prices in Japan saw an increase from the previous year. According to the 2016 ‘chika-koji’ assessed land values released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the nationwide commercial land price increased by 0.9% from 2015.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, commercial land values increased by 4.1% in 2016, up from a 2.9% increase in 2015.
The increase can be attributed to improving office conditions in city centres, and a surge in construction of hotels to meet the growing number of foreign tourists. Read more
Central Tokyo apartment sale prices drop as average building age increases
According to REINS, 2,543 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in December, down 1.4% from the previous month but up 1.8% from 2014. The average apartment sale price was 28,640,000 Yen, down 1.8% from the previous month but up 0.6% from 2014. The average price per square meter was 454,400 Yen, down 1.2% from the previous month but up 1.3% from 2014. The average building age was 21.29 years (1.44 years older than the average in December 2014).
In the Tokyo metropolitan area 1,287 second-hand apartments were sold, down 14.2% from the previous month but up 3.0% from 2014. The average sale price was 35,770,000 Yen, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 2.0% from 2014. The average price per square meter was 610,100 Yen, down 1.5% from the previous month but up 2.8% from 2014. The average building age was 20.00 years (1.07 years old than the average in December 2014).
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 158 apartments were sold, down 15.1% from the previous month but up 3.9% from 2014. The average sale price was 53,550,000 Yen, down 0.4% from the previous month and down 6.6% from 2014. The average price per square meter was 968,300 Yen, down 3.7% from the previous month and down 3.0% from 2014. Read more
Idle ocean-front land in Miura sold to Chiba buyer
An idle parcel of ocean-front land in Miura, Kanagawa, will be sold to a Chiba-based company later this year. The 13.5 hectare (1.45 million sq.ft) site is currently owned by Properst, a Tokyo-based developer. The sale price has not been disclosed and it is unclear what the new buyer plans to do with the site.
The site was developed by Seibu Railway between 1955 and 1965. It was originally an inlet, but the land was reclaimed to create a potential tourist destination. Properst acquired the site in early 2007 for 8.1 billion Yen (approx. 67.5 million USD at the time) and planned to construct several apartment buildings containing 1,400 units, a 140-room hotel, marina, retail, 152 residential building lots, and parkland. The project would have housed around 3,000 residents. This was exciting news for Miura City, which had been battling a declining and ageing population.Read more