Our Japan Property Market Report for 2017

Our annual property market report for the past year can be downloaded in PDF format below.

We continued to see property prices rise in 2017, while transactions hit new highs. The luxury residential market in Tokyo has been a star performer and developers are starting to increase their offerings of high-end apartments to cater to demand.

Supporting the real estate market this year were record high foreign tourist numbers, record low office vacancy rates, a surging share market, improving economic conditions and low unemployment figures.

We have compiled our market insights into the following report:Read more

by Zoe Ward

How much does earthquake insurance cost in Japan?

When buying a home in Japan you may want to consider earthquake insurance. As at the end of 2016, approximately 30% of Japanese households had earthquake insurance. Insurance premiums will vary depending on (1) the location of the property and (2) the type of construction, while payouts will vary depending on the level of damage.

Payouts are between 30 ~ 50% of the insured value of the fire insurance policy, and cannot exceed 50 million Yen (approx. 440,000 USD) for the property and 10 million Yen (approx. 88,000 USD) for contents. For example, if the fire insurance coverage is 20 million Yen, the earthquake insurance coverage will be between 6 ~ 10 million Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Supply of new apartments in greater Tokyo to increase in 2018

According to a forecast by the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 38,000 brand new apartments are expected to be released for sale across greater Tokyo in 2018, up 4.4% from 2017 and the second year in a row to see an increase. Depending on demand for buyers eager to purchase before the consumption tax rate increase in October 2019, supply could reach as high as 40,000 units.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward to impose strict rules on short-term rentals

Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward has announced plans that could require hosts of minpaku-style short-term rentals required to either live in the property with the guests or within close proximity. The new rules could be introduced in June to coincide and override the national regulations set to go into effect this year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo Apartment Sales in December 2017

The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of December 2017:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kyoto to see 12,000 new hotel rooms by 2020

A survey by the Kyoto Shimbun has estimated that there will be approximately 12,000 new hotel rooms supplied in the city by 2020, a 40% increase from 2015. This is 20% more than the 10,000 rooms required to eliminate the current room shortage.

The city had a total of 33,887 rooms as at the end of 2016, a 4,000 room increase from 2015. By 2020 there will be a total of 42,000 rooms. The data measured by the city does not include small-scale accommodation facilities like guest houses, which means the total could be much higher.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment asking prices in Tokyo in November 2017

According to Tokyo Kantei the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) apartment across greater Tokyo was 36,210,000 Yen in November, up 1.1% from the previous month and up 2.1% from last year. The average building age was 23.1 years.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 53,320,000 Yen, up 0.8% from the previous month and up 1.0% from last year. The average building age was 22.7 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward