Former Kobe Sumitomo Building to be demolished
The former Kobe Sumitomo Building in Kobe is going to be demolished this month.
Built in 1934, the 3-storey building was originally the Kobe branch of the Sumitomo Bank. It was a landmark in the former foreign settlement area around Motomachi.Read more
Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - April 2014
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in April was 5.4%, down 0.1 points from March. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 7.2%, down 0.1 points.
The vacancy rate remains unchanged at 9.9% across Minato-ku and 11.0% across Tokyo.
The average asking price of a secondhand apartment in Minato-ku was 781,143 Yen/sqm as of April 1, up 0.1% from the previous month. The average asking price for land was 1,113,333 Yen/sqm, up 4.6%.Read more
Growing market for secondhand apartments, but concerns linger
Despite the preference that Japanese have for all things new, secondhand apartments are growing in popularity and more and more developers are getting involved in renovations and apartment flipping.
According to REINS, 36,432 secondhand apartments were sold in greater Tokyo in 2013, up 16% from the previous year. Over the same period, 44,886 new apartments were sold, up 29% from 2012.
There are three main reasons for the recent growth in the secondhand apartment market: Read more
The Tower Yokosuka Chuo 60% sold
All 150 apartments offered in the first round of sales in The Tower Yokosuka Chuo condominium sold out in early March. An average of 1.3 applications were made on each apartment, with the most popular apartment receiving 4 applications.Read more