Chongryon headquarters back on the auction block
The Chongryon headquarters and North Korean de facto embassy building in Tokyo will be put up for public auction for a second time in early October.
The building and land was first listed for auction in March 2013. It made headlines after the winning bidder - the chief priest of a Kagoshima-based buddhist temple - failed to come up with the money for his 4.5 billion Yen bid.Read more
Kyoto's traditional boathouses to be rented out
To combat the growing number of empty and unused traditional boathouses in Kyoto's Ine Town, the local government is considering plans to rent these houses out to new residents.
The scenic area is designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Read more
Tokyo may soon see a shortage of new apartments
In July, the number of unsold new apartments across greater Tokyo fell to 4,247 units - the lowest level seen since 1990.
In the first half of the 2000s, land prices started to rise as a surge in activity by real estate funds started an investment boom. In addition, strong demand for steel from emerging economies pushed up construction costs in Japan. As a result, developers repeatedly pushed up apartment prices. The sudden drop in demand from buyers when the global financial crisis hit in 2008 left a growing inventory of unsold apartments.Read more
Nihonbashi office conversion provides solution to vacancy woes
Renovation company Haptic Co. collaborated with interior design and furnishing company Idee to convert a 24-year old office building in Nihonbashi into residential apartments.
The 7-storey Nihonbashi M&K Building was built in 1989. The owners of the ageing building were having difficulty attracting commercial tenants. Converting the building to residential use was less than a third of the estimated cost of rebuilding. Read more
Historic villa restored and open to the public in Nagoya
Nagoya City has completed the restoration of the historic Choshokaku reception hall (c1935) and will open the building to the public from August 29.
The hall is part of the Yokiso estate which was owned by Suketami Ito (1878 - 1940), the first company president of the Matsuzakaya Department Store.Read more
New apartment prices in July
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 5,306 brand new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in July, up 31.6% from last year and up 8.6% from last month. The contract rate was 81.6%, up 8.4 points from last year. The contract rate in buildings over 20 storeys was 90.8%.
The average new apartment price was 51,280,000 Yen (528,000 USD), up 6.1% from last month and up 9.9% from July 2012. The average price per square meter was 727,000 Yen, up 6.0% from last month and up 12.2% from last year.Read more