80~90% of condominiums in Kumamoto suffered damage in April earthquakes

Kumamoto Earthquake 3

90% of the condominiums in Kumamoto Prefecture that are members of the Condominium Management Companies Association reported building damage from the April earthquakes. Meanwhile the Kumamoto Prefecture Condominium Management Federation estimated that 80% of the 850 condominiums in Kumamoto City suffered earthquake damage.Read more


An agent’s disclosure obligations regarding stigmatised properties

Under Article 47 Item 1 of Japan's Real Estate Brokerage Act, agents are prohibited from intentionally failing to disclose any matters relating to the building that may have a serious affect on the client’s decision to proceed with the transaction.

This means that real estate agents are obligated to notify clients of defects to a property, such as suicide, murder or other unnatural deaths, but only if the agent is aware of these defects at the time. There may be times when an agent is unaware, in which case they cannot be held liable. This can occur if the landlord or seller was purposely withholding this information from the agent, or if there was an unnatural death or murder that was not reported to the property owner or management company. The owner of the property, however, may be held responsible even if they were unaware of the defect.Read more


Investment company takes over stalled resort project in Hokkaido

Hokkaido Tomakomai

MA Platform, an investment company affiliated with Mori Trust, is planning a large-scale resort development catering to foreign tourists in Hokkaido’s Tomakomai City. Construction is scheduled to start in 2017 with partial completion by 2020 and full completion by 2026.

The 1,057 hectare site is privately owned forestry which is being leased out by the local landholder. Approximately 42 hectares will be used for the development, which will include a 330 room hotel in three buildings as well as 40 holiday cottages. The first hotel building containing 150 rooms is expected to be completed by 2020. An internationally-branded hotel chain is expected to operate the hotel, with some rooms being available for purchase individually. The holiday cottages may be custom-built for buyers.Read more


Tokyo apartment asking prices increase for 23rd consecutive month

Tokyo Apt Sales May2016

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in May 2016 was 34,520,000 Yen, up 0.7% from the previous month and up 15.1% from last year. The average building age was 22.2 years.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average asking price was 47,640,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 15.7% from last year. This is the 23rd month in a row to record an increase in prices. The average building age was 21.8 years.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 52,680,000 Yen, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 14.4% from last year. The average building age was 21.7 years.

In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average asking price was 71,460,000 Yen, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 10.2% from last year.

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City gives up plans to purchase historic home

Moroto Residence 2

In February, the mayor of Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture announced that the city was unable to go through with the purchase of a historically significant home due to budgetary constraints. Acquisition costs and repairs were estimated to exceed 12 billion Yen (approx. 11.5 million USD).Read more


Akasaka Tower Residence Top of the Hill - Current market analysis

Akasaka Tower Residence 2

The following is a detailed look at the current sale and rental market for the Akasaka Tower Residence Top of the Hill condominium tower in Akasaka, Tokyo. We hope this is informative for anyone considering purchasing or selling a unit in this building.

Akasaka Tower Residence was developed by Sunwood, Tokyu Land and Takenaka Corporation and completed in early 2008. The 45-storey, 158m tall building contains 521 apartments, of which 96 were purely for rent, with the remaining units owned by private individuals and occasionally available for rent or sale. The 82 apartments on floors 3 ~ 10 were originally all rental-only units, although some of them were sold off to individual buyers in recent years.

This is a luxury residence with concierge service, guest suites, library, coach entrance, wine cellar, guest parking, and a rooftop deck with lounge and cafe. The building is managed by Mori Building, which is the developer of high-end residential and large-scale complexes such as Roppongi Hills and Toranomon Hills.

Akasaka Tower Residence 1

Only two floors in the building feature unusually high-ceilings - the 11th and 28th floors. Apartments on these floors have ceiling heights of up to 3.29 meters in the living/dining and as high as 3.65 meters in the master bedroom (compared with the standard 2.4 meters found in many standard Japanese apartments).

When new, apartments had an average price of around 1,600,000 Yen/sqm. Currently, sale listings range from 91.8 ~ 368 million Yen, with an average price of 2,150,000 Yen/sqm. There are 16 units currently advertised for sale in this building.Read more


Average apartment rent in May 2016

Apartment rent Japan 201605

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in greater Tokyo was 2,661 Yen/sqm in May 2016, down 0.2% from the previous month but up 0.2% from last year. The average apartment size was 59.28 sqm and the average building age was 19.4 years.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average monthly rent was 3,165 Yen/sqm, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 2.0% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.74 sqm and the average building age was 17.4 years.Read more