Luxury onsen resort planned for Nikko in 2019
Tobu Railway and real estate developer HULIC have announced plans to open a luxury hot spring resort in Nikko that will cater to wealthy tourists. The tentatively-titled ‘Nikko Fufu’ resort is scheduled to open in 2019 2020.
The 14,000 sqm site is located on Tobu-owned land in the Tomozawa district in Nikko. It adjoins the 40,000 sqm Nikko Tomozawa Imperial Villa and Memorial Park, and is close to the Nikko Tosho-gu Shrine. It was previously part of the Imperial Villa estate and was home to a traditional residence built in the 1910s that was converted to a hotel after WWII. The hotel was demolished in the 1970s and replaced with a newer hotel that was demolished in 2006. The land has sat vacant for the past 10 years.Read more
Top 10 areas in Minato-ku with the highest increase in apartment prices
Research company Mansion Market has ranked the top 10 addresses in Tokyo’s Minato ward that have seen the highest increase in apartment prices over the past 10 years. Five addresses recorded price increases of over 20%. In top place was Azabu Juban with an average increase in price of 27.1%.Read more
Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 56th month in a row
According to REINS, 2,983 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 5.7% from the previous month and down 0.6% from last year. The average sale price was 31,730,000 Yen, down 2.2% from the previous month but up 6.1% from last year. The average price per square meter was 494,900 Yen, down 1.8% from the previous month but up 5.4% from last year. This is the 53rd month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in prices. The average building age was 20.63 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,532 apartments were sold, down 4.8% from the previous month but up 1.9% from last year. The average sale price was 39,330,000 Yen, down 3.7% from the previous month but up 6.4% from last year. The average sale price per square meter was 660,200 Yen, down 2.7% from the previous month but up 5.5% from last year. This is the 56th month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 19.46 years.Read more
Construction starts on 32-storey apartment building in Tsukishima
A 32-storey, 122 meter tall residential building is under construction alongside Tsukishima’s Nishinaka Street in Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
The street, which is also known as Monja Street, is famous for being lined with over 70 restaurants serving monjayaki dishes.
The Tsukishima 1 Chome Nishinaka Street District Redevelopment (officially named 'Mid Tower Grand') is a 30 billion Yen project being lead by developers Marubeni, Mitsui Fudosan Residential and Taisei Construction. The building will contain around 500 apartments, as well as retail space and a pachinko parlor. Demolition and construction work began in March 2017 and completion is scheduled for late March 2021.Read more
Brokerage fees on cheap vacant homes may be increased
In order to encourage and promote the sale of long-vacant homes in Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is considering increasing the maximum commission that a real estate agency can charge on a transaction.
Real estate brokerage fees in Japan are currently capped at the following rates:
| Sale price: | Commission*: |
| < ¥2,000,000 | 5% |
| ¥2,000,000 ~ ¥4,000,000 | 4% + ¥20,000 |
| > ¥4,000,000 | 3% + ¥60,000 |
| *Consumption tax is then charged on top of the brokerage fees. | |
Under current laws, the maximum an agency could charge on the sale of a 3,000,000 Yen property is 140,000 Yen + consumption tax to their client. If they represent both the buyer and the seller, then can charge this to both parties. On a 2,000,000 Yen sale, the maximum commission is currently 100,000 Yen + consumption tax. The revision would apply to vacant properties sold below 4,000,000 Yen (approx. 36,000 USD).Read more
Lingerie company to start Kyoto machiya accommodation business
On May 30, Japanese lingerie company Wacoal Holdings announced that they will be starting an accommodation business that will feature Kyoto’s traditional machiya residences.
From early 2018 onwards, the company plans to renovate old machiya into hotel-like guesthouses targeting tourists, with two or three machiya to open next year. Their goal is to manage 50 machiya over the next five years with a total annual revenue of over 1 billion Yen (approx. 9 million USD).Read more