New lending for real estate in Japan reaches record high in 2016
New lending by banks to the real estate sector in Japan in the April-September period was 7.706 trillion Yen (approx. 68.9 billion USD), up 14.7% from the same period in 2015 and exceeding levels seen during Japan’s bubble economy in the 1980s for the second year in a row.
Total new lending by banks and shinkin banks across all industries was 27.376 trillion Yen.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices in October 2016
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in October 2016 was 36,210,000 Yen, up 2.6% from the previous month and up 13.3% from last year. This is the 10th month in a row to record an increase from the previous month. The average building age was 22.4 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area the average asking price was 48,550,000 Yen, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 8.8% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 52,450,000 Yen, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 5.4% from last year.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya) the average asking price was 70,460,000 Yen, down 2.1% from the previous month but up 1.1% from last year.
In central Osaka, asking prices were down for the 3rd month in a row. Although the decrease may partly be due to an increase in older apartments, the price increase of relatively newer buildings appears to have slowed as prices appear to be peaking out. Central Nagoya, however, saw prices increase for the fourth month in a row.
Nakano’s last surviving thatched-roof house to be demolished
The 160+ year old Hosoda Residence in Nakano, Tokyo, is expected to be demolished soon to make way for a city road. The road plan was enacted in 1966, but, as is the case with many of Tokyo's old road plans, remained dormant for several decades. The city obtained approval from the national government for the road construction in 2015 and plan to have the project completed by 2020.
This is the sole surviving thatched-roof house in Nakano Ward, and a very rare example of a typical farmhouse from the period in Tokyo’s 23 wards. Read more
Kyushu's tallest building to be built by 2019
Nishi-Nippon Railroad is planning a 46-storey apartment building for Fukuoka City. The 152 meter tall building will be the tallest* building in Kyushu when complete in 2019.
The high-rise will be 3 meters taller than Kyushu’s current tallest apartment building - I Tower - which was completed earlier this year and located on the same island. Apartments in I Tower were selling for around 375,000 Yen per square meter when new.Read more
Average apartment rent in October 2016
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in greater Tokyo was 2,697 Yen/sqm in October, up 1.3% from the previous month and up 0.6% from last year. The average apartment size was 59.29 sqm and the average building age was 20.1 years. In October, apartments in the Tokyo metropolitan area accounted for 66.5% of all listings across greater Tokyo, up from a 60.7% share in September. This contributed to the increase in rent from the previous month as prices in the Tokyo area are higher than surrounding prefectures.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area the average monthly rent was 3,153 Yen/sqm, down 2.4% from the previous month and down 1.0% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.99 sqm and the average building age was 18.4 years.Read more
Ritz Carlton opening hotel in Nikko
Tobu Railway and Marriott International will be opening The Ritz Carlton Nikko on the shores of Lake Chuzenji in 2020. The two companies entered into an agreement on November 7. Marriott currently operates Ritz Carlton hotels in Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, and Kyoto. They are also planning to open one in the ski resort town of Niseko in Hokkaido.
The hotel will be built on the site of the former Nikko Lake Side Hotel. It is a 19,000 square meter block on the eastern side of Lake Chuzenji. The former hotel, which was built in 1968, will be demolished to make way for a new building.Read more