Roppongi Tokyo Club Residence Popular With Buyers

The Roppongi Tokyo Club Residence has seen positive sales activity. From the initial release of 95 units in mid-July, 86 have received applications.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Why are the Chinese buying real estate in Japan?

Although it is reported almost every other day in the Japanese news, this Financial Times article provides a simple summary of why Chinese buyers are investing in Japanese real estate. Some of the reasons include attractive rental returns, capital gain on refurbishing apartment buildings and selling to other Chinese investors, or simply buying a vacation home. Despite the media attention, foreigners only represent a very small portion of the real estate market in Japan.

Article: Financial Times - Global Economy, August 19, 2010.

by Zoe Ward

Hirakawacho Mori Tower Selling Fast

As of late August, 2010, there are only 7 units (including the four penthouse apartments) remaining for sale in Hirakawacho Mori Tower Residence. This building was completed in December, 2009, and sales started from mid-February with lottery drawings being held to sell the more popular units.

The three non-penthouse units are 2 & 3 bedroom units over 120sqm (1,290 sqft) and priced from 158~174 million JPY. Due to the popularity of the building, prices are not negotiable on these remaining units. Once these units sell, the developer may take some units out of the rental pool and put them up for sale by special request.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japan ranked 9th best country in the world

Newsweek released their ranking of the best countries in the world based on health, education, economy and politics. Japan was ranked 9th in the world, and is the top ranked Asian country.

Click here to view the list.

by Zoe Ward

More Red Flags over Kenyan Embassy Land Purchase

More details on the Kenyan Embassy land purchase in Tokyo are coming to light. According to Kenya's Daily Nation, the Ministry decided to purchase a plot of land with two ageing buildings in Yakumo, Meguro-ku, from an individual owner at an unusally high price (1.6 billion JPY).

The seller, who was previously leasing the land and buildings to the Embassy, carried out his own property background check and personally drew up the contract documents.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment prices from 2007-2010

According to the following data, the average sales price per square meter of existing apartments in Tokyo appear to be increasing and are now on level with prices in mid-2007.  Average prices for 2010 have continued to surpass the 2009 prices.

The following charts are provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Land Transaction Prices in Japan

If you are interested in finding out current and past market prices of land in Tokyo and other areas in Japan, the following website called the "Land General Information System" lists the real estate transaction prices of land sold in Japan since 2005.  For privacy reasons, the exact address of each block of land is not published, but other details such as the size of the block, area and distance to nearest station are provided. Please be aware that not every transaction is published and there are sometimes errors in the sales data.Read more

by Zoe Ward