Investment company takes over stalled resort project in Hokkaido
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
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.
City gives up plans to purchase historic home
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
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.
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
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
New apartment supply declines for 6th consecutive month
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 3,002 brand new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in May, up 51.8% from the previous month but down 14.1% from last year. This is the 6th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline in supply, and is the lowest level of supply reported for the month of May since 1992.
2,129 apartments were sold, resulting in a contract ratio of 70.9%, up 4.5 points from the previous month but down 0.2 points from last year. 330 apartments in high-rise buildings (over 20-storeys) were offered for sale, down 49.3% from 2015. The contract ratio was 73.9%, down 14.3 points from last year.
The average price of a new apartment across greater Tokyo was 56,920,000 Yen, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 18.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 823,000 Yen, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 21.2% from last year.Read more
Sony to demolish iconic Ginza building in 2017
The 50-year old Sony Building in Tokyo’s Ginza area will be demolished in 2017 to make way for a temporary park, and finally a replacement building by 2022.
The building sits on a prime 700 sqm (7,500 sq.ft) corner block of land just 180 meters from the historic Wako Building and the Mitsukoshi Department Store. The land is used as one of the government’s chika-koji annual land survey sites. In 2016, the land had a surveyed value of 34,700,000 Yen/sqm (approx. 31,000 USD/sq.ft), which would make the 700 sqm site valued at approximately 24.5 billion Yen (approx. 235 million USD). The valuation was up 18.03% from 2015, and has increased by a staggering 151% since 2002. Read more