Mori to build Japan’s tallest residential tower in Toranomon

Atagoyama District Redevelopment I Distict 3

Mori Building have released details for a 56-storey residential tower on the southern side of Toranomon Hills. The Atagoyama District Redevelopmeent (I District) will be 220 meters tall, just 35 meters shorter than the mixed-use Toranomon Hills complex. When complete, it could become the tallest fully-residential building in Japan, exceeding The Kitahama in Osaka and The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku Tower by 11 meters. It may also become the second tallest building in Tokyo that includes a residential component (second only to Toranomon Hills).Read more


Sales start on Omotesando’s latest luxury condo next month

The Parkhouse Gran Minamiaoyama 1

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence have announced details on their latest ‘The Parkhouse Gran’ series of condominiums. The Parkhouse Gran Minamiaoyama is currently under construction just 400 meters south-east of Omotesando Station and 200 meters from the Prada Boutique. This is a site we have been watching for some time now.

Sales are scheduled to start in early June. Of the 101 apartments, only 20 will be made available for sale, with 81 going to landholders and participants of the project. Given the very prestigious and exclusive location, and the extremely limited supply of apartments, we are expecting this project to see a same-day sellout. The sales schedule has yet to be announced, but we would expect apartments to be offered for sale under a lottery-type system where interested buyers submit applications during a short sales campaign, with lucky buyers selected from a raffle at the end.

Pricing has yet to be announced, but going by other recent luxury developments in central Tokyo, we are expecting apartments to be priced between 2 ~ 3 million Yen/sqm (1,530 ~ 2,300 USD/sq ft). A 23-year old residential building further down the street has refurbished apartments listed for around 1.8 million Yen/sqm, while 30 ~ 50 year old apartments in the Omotesando area can start from around 1 million Yen/sqm.Read more


New apartment supply in April at 23-year low

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,286 brand new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in April, down 48.6% from the previous month and down 7.6% from last year. This is the lowest level recorded for the month of April since 1992, when just 1,365 apartments were released for sale. It is also the fourth month in a row to see a decline.

One of the contributing factors to the drop in supply was a delay in sales offerings by some developers. The sale of as many as 500 ~ 600 units were postponed until May to appeal to buyers during the Golden Week holidays.

1,727 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 75.5%, down 4.1 points from the previous month but up 0.8 points from last year.

The average new apartment price was 53,050,000 Yen, up 2.3% from the previous month and up 9.5% from last year. The average price per square meter was 758,000 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 7.8% from last year.Read more


Greater Tokyo's largest apartment development announced

Makuhari New Town Wakaba Residential District

Chiba Prefecture announced the three developers that have been chosen to work on a large-scale apartment project in Makuhari New City in Chiba. Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Jisho and Nomura Real Estate will begin work on a 180 billion Yen (1.5 billion USD) residential complex with approximately 4,300 apartments. When complete, it will be the largest apartment complex in the greater Tokyo area.

To appeal to young family buyers, prices will kept at affordable levels, with some suggesting they could be around the 40 million Yen (335,000 USD) range. The complex will house as many as 10,000 residents when complete.Read more


Toranomon fast becoming a hotspot of development

The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2027 opening of the new maglev line have helped to spur along some major construction projects in Tokyo, in particular the Toranomon area.

Since the opening of Toranomon Hills in 2014, the Toranomon area is quickly emerging as Tokyo’s newest hub for international business. It is not just an office area, as nearby hotels, hospitals, and serviced apartments are also in the process of being built. There are also plans for a new station along the Hibiya Line that will connect with Toranomon Hills.

Mori Building is the major player in this district, and plans to invest over a trillion Yen in projects in the Toranomon and Roppongi area over the next 10 years.Read more


High-rise apartment trends from 2015 onwards

The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku 60 1

According to data compiled by the Real Estate Economic Institute, there are currently 262 super high-rise* residential buildings containing 101,450 apartments planned for completion across Japan from 2015 onwards. This is an increase of 75 buildings and 25,910 apartments from last year.

77,824 of the apartments, comprising 76.7% of the total, are located in the greater Tokyo area, and 50,371 apartments (49.7%) are within Tokyo’s 23 wards.

The planning and construction of super high-rise apartment buildings began to increase in the late 1990s. High-rise apartment buildings have remained steadily popular with buyers, and have retained relatively strong re-sale values.

However, the downturn in the property market following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in late 2008 saw developers limit the supply of new construction. As a result, the annual supply of apartments went from 35,609 in 2009 to 17,967 in 2010. The Tohoku tsunami and earthquake in 2011 saw a number of projects in the Tohoku and Kanto regions delayed, and new supply dropped to 13,321 apartments.Read more


APA Group breaks ground on latest luxury condo

The Conoe Mita Tsunamachi

On April 7, APA Group held the groundbreaking ceremony for their latest luxury condominium project in central Tokyo. The Conoe Mita Tsunamachi is located on a prime corner block along the same street as the Australian Embassy and the members-only Tsunamachi Mitsui Club.

The 9-storey building will contain 45 one and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 73 ~ 216 sqm (785 ~ 2,313 sq ft). Completion is expected by July 2017. Bathrooms will be designed to feel like those found in luxury hotels overseas, with natural wood and stone finishes.Read more