50-year old house renovation in Setagaya
From a typical buyer’s perspective in Japan, ongoing improvements in earthquake-resistant construction methods, insulation and new bathrooms and kitchens means that newer homes ultimately win out over older houses. However, there has been a growing trend of renovating older homes. These renovations are proving popular with Japanese buyers who may have once only considered new construction.
Late last year, renovation company ReBITA Inc. completely gutted and remodelled a 50-year old house in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward. It was listed for 65,800,000 Yen (approx. 653,000 USD) and promptly sold. This is the 15th detached house that ReBITA have flipped. Read more
Mori Trust planning new luxury hotel in Sapporo
Mori Trust have acquired the Norinchukin Bank’s Sapporo Branch building and land in Sapporo’s Odori Nishi 5 Chome district for approximately 9 billion Yen (88 million USD). The real estate developer plans to demolish the existing 60-year old building and place it with a high-end hotel catering to wealthy foreign tourists. Completion is tentatively scheduled for around 2020.Read more
Tokyo apartment sales in June 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of June 2016:Read more
Rosenka land values increase nationwide for first time in 8 years
According to Japan’s National Tax Agency, rosenka land values across Japan in 2016 increased by 0.2% from 2015. This is the first time to see an increase in the nationwide average since pre-global financial crisis in 2008.
Recent monetary easing measures, strong activity in the real estate market in central Tokyo and a surge in the number of foreign tourists are behind the increase in land prices.
Tokyo was in top place with an average increase of 2.9%. Land near the Kyukyodo Building in Ginza remains the most expensive land in Japan for the 31st year in a row. The rosenka land value in 2016 was 32,000,000 Yen/sqm (29,000 USD/sq.ft), up 18.7% from 2015 and has exceeded pre-Lehman Crisis pricing. This land reached a peak of 36,500,000 Yen/sqm in 1992, before dropping to 11,360,000 Yen/sqm in 1997.
Land alongside Omotesando Avenue in Tokyo had a rosenka value of 10,070,000 Yen/sqm in 2016, up 14.2% from 2015.Read more
Top house flippers in Japan’s real estate market
The Remodelling Business Journal published a ranking of the top property flipping real estate companies in Japan. These companies specialise in buying up second-hand homes and apartments, renovating them, and then reselling them to individual buyers.
In top spot was Gunma Prefecture-based Katitas Co., Ltd, with 3,034 re-sales over the past 12 months. Apartments only made up 5% of their properties traded, with the majority of sales being detached houses in regional areas. The average property was sold for 13,000,000 Yen (approx. 126,000 USD), and the average age of the property was 32 years. The company focuses on updating the bathroom and kitchens, as well as expanding car parking spaces in the properties they flip. They also conduct termite spraying and include a 5-year pest control warranty on the homes they sell.Read more