How long does it take to for an apartment to sell in central Tokyo?
We find many clients miss out on some great purchases because they assume they will have plenty of time before a property sells. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when trying to enter a major market like Tokyo is to think that you are the only buyer out there. In reality, there are a lot of buyers circling the market, especially in central Tokyo. The vast majority are domestic buyers who know the market and are able to pounce quickly.
The owners of 20% of Japan’s land are unaccounted for
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), approximately 41,000 square kilometers, or 20% of privately-owned land in Japan is owned by unidentifiable or missing owners.
A missing owner is defined as someone who has either passed away without the property title being transferred to the heirs, or an owner who has since moved but has not updated their address details on the property title. Generally speaking, there is no legal obligation to update a change of address or inheritance on property titles.
Of the land, 14% is building land, 18.5% is farmland, and 25.7% is forestry. The MLIT reported that 19.8%, or 930,000 hectares, of Japan’s agricultural land has property titles that have not been updated in over 50 years. Some local governments have found property titles showing the owner’s address as Manchukuo - a short-lived pre-war puppet state located in northeastern China.Read more
Nationwide rosenka land values increase for 2nd year in a row
In 2017, Japan’s rosenka land values increased for the second year in a row with an average growth of 0.4% nationwide. In 2016, rosenka land values increased by 0.2%, ending an 8 year decline.
In Tokyo’s Ginza district, an uptick in retail demand due to record-high foreign tourist numbers has helped to push land values to a historical high, exceeding those seen during Japan’s bubble economy. The land value alongside Ginza Chuo Dori in Ginza 5 Chome (in front of the Kyukyodo Building) reached 40,320,000 Yen per square meter (approximately 33,100 USD/sq ft) this year, up 26% from 2016 and exceeding the previous record of 36,500,000 Yen last seen in 1992. This particular location has been the most expensive land in Japan for the past 32 years.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in June 2017
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of June 2017:Read more
Heritage-listed house in Sendai to be demolished
The owners of a heritage-listed house in Sendai will soon demolish the old home and several other historic buildings to make way for a city-planned road that will cut through the site. The buildings include the former main house, workshop and storehouses for the 140-year old Mondaya company - a manufacturer of traditional Sendai-tansu cabinets.Read more
School to be converted into apartment building
Real estate company Misawa Homes has acquired a 36-year old former technical school building in Tokyo’s Chiyoda ward, and will convert the existing building into rental apartments.
This will be the company’s second ‘refining’ project to be done in conjunction with Shigeru Aoki Architect & Associates. The architectural firm has worked on several building refurbishment projects across Japan.Read more