Apartment rents reach 7 year low in Tokyo

The average apartment rent across Japan's major cities has fallen even further. In July, the average rent for a condominium in Tokyo's 23-ku fell below 3,000 Yen/sqm a month for the first time in over seven years. The rent in rental-only buildings has also fallen.

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average rent for a condominium apartment in July was 2,995 Yen/sqm a month, down 1.8% from July 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Thai property developer buys Hokkaido ski resort

Thai property developer Property Perfect has invested 770 million baht (approximately 1.9 billion Yen, or 24 million USD) in the takeover of the relatively unknown Kiroro Ski Resort, 43km west of Sapporo, from Mitsui Real Estate.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Historic Shimoda Ice Factory to be demolished

The Nanzu Ice Factory in Shimoda City is scheduled to be torn down this month due to deterioration and concerns over its earthquake-resistance.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment prices continue to fall in July

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average secondhand apartment price (based on a 70sqm apartment) in greater Tokyo in July fell 0.7% from the previous month to 28,250,000 Yen.

With the exception of Saitama City which saw prices rise 0.5% from the previous month to 21,180,000 Yen, all other areas in greater Tokyo saw a further decline in prices, with the rate of decline worsening. In Chiba City, the average price fell 1.8% from the previous month to 17,170,000 Yen. This is 6.3% lower than July of 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Chunk of concrete falls off building in Ikebukuro

A 20 centimeter piece of concrete fell from the top of a 10-storey apartment in Ikebukuro yesterday, smashing onto the pavement below. No one was injured.

The incident occurred at about 8am when a fragment from the rooftop of the building came loose. Another 4 meter long piece of concrete was left dangling, but was later removed by workers.

The apartment building is over 40 years old and the police headquarters said the deterioration of the building was to blame.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tas Corp's rental market data for August

TAS Corp, the company behind the "Tas-Map" real estate valuation site, released their latest data on the rental market for both the greater Tokyo and Kansai area for August 2012.

The data includes a vacancy rate index, average time an apartment is advertised before a tenant is found, average rate of lease renewals, rate of mid-way cancellations and a rent index.

This month's report on the greater Tokyo area focused on the aging population in Saitama and the consequences this will have for landlords in the future.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Survey says Chinese investors keen on resort apartments in Japan

Tokyo-based GlobeLink is a specialist marketing and consulting company that targets wealthy Chinese consumers. They recently conducted a survey of wealthy Chinese investors to find out where they want to invest and why.

A total of 100 consumers from the top wealth bracket in China were surveyed. The participants all reside in major cities in China, and are interested in investing in Japanese real estate.Read more

by Zoe Ward