[Foreclosed] Historic Hotel in Hakodate

Court Evaluated Price: 39,600,000 Yen (483,000 USD)

*Update: The winning bid was 43,695,000 Yen*

A historically listed hotel in Hokkaido’s Hakodate City is up for public auction.

“Auberge Kokian” was built in 1909 in the Wayo-Secchu style of architecture (a blend of Japanese and Western) and constructed from Japanese cypress. It was originally a seafood store called Watanabe Shoten. It was in operation as a restaurant and inn until the end of 2009.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Pro-baseballer sued for not paying sales brokerage

A pro-baseball player from the Hanshin Tigers was recently involved in a court dispute over refusal to pay brokerage fees for an apartment he purchased with his wife in Kobe City.

On January 21, 2011, the Kobe District Court ordered Takashi Toritani and his wife to pay 1,000,000 JPY (12,000 USD) to the Kobe real estate agent who brokered the transaction in September, 2009.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Mitsui Real Estate ties up with Beijing Homelink

Mitsui Real Estate Sales announced a new venture with Beijing Homelink Real Estate Service Brokerage, the biggest property agency in Beijing, to offer brokerage services for wealthy Chinese looking to purchase apartments in Japan.

Mitsui is also considering starting a specialized property consulting service in Beijing in 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Gunma Golf Course For Sale

Price: 150,000,000 JPY
Size: 664,690 sqm

SOLD

A par-72, 18 hole hillside golf course is for sale in Gunma Prefecture. The property is spread over 66 hectares and is a 2 hr drive west of Tokyo.

The grounds include a 4-storey clubhouse / hotel with an interior size of 5697sqm (61,300 sqft) and 37 rooms that can accommodate 150 guests. The golf club officially closed down in 2007 and has not been maintained since then.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Renting vs. buying in Japan: How to cut your rent by up to 50%

Japan's real estate market offers relatively high rental yields. Coupled with a low cost of funds (1% floating interest rates from Japanese banks, although rates on investment loans may be higher) the net return is one of the most appealing features to many investors.

The typical gross rental yield for an apartment in central Tokyo is between 4-6%. This may be as low as 2~3% for a high-end luxury expatriate apartment, and over 10% for a studio or one-room type apartment in an older building.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Central Tokyo prices up 1.9% in 2010

On January 13th, 2011, Mitsui Fudosan announced the 2010 residential price movements. Prices in Tokyo rose 1.0% in 2010, compared with a 4.5% decline in 2009 after the Lehman Shock. This is the first increase since 2007. An improvement in economic conditions as well as the expansion in mortgage tax reductions were cited as reasons for the increase. For Tokyo's 23 Wards, the price increase was 1.9%. In Yokohama and Kawasaki, the prices increased by 0.4%.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Minato-ku apartment prices increased 61% over past decade

An apartment consulting company, Total Brain, has analyzed condominium apartment prices in Tokyo's central 6 wards (Minato, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Chiyoda, Chuo and Bunkyo ku) from the year 2000 to 2010.

The average apartment price in all of these areas has risen, but Shibuya had the lowest price increase. The area with the highest increase in average prices was Minato-ku with an increase of 61%.Read more

by Zoe Ward