Historic home in Kagoshima to be demolished
A historic and heritage-listed home in Kagoshima City will be demolished by the end of this year after a six-year attempt to save it.
Tokyo: A big city with small apartments
Did you know that less than 3% of the second-hand apartments listed for sale across greater Tokyo in 2021 were over 100 sqm (1,076 sq.ft) in size? And that 0.4% were over 141 sqm (1,517 sq.ft) in size?
Tokyo Apartment Sales in July 2022
The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2022:
Apartments in Tokyo are selling faster and with smaller discounts
Last year, the market for second-hand apartments in the greater Tokyo area saw discounts hit some of the lowest rates on average, while apartments sold in a shorter amount of time.
Japan’s 5 megabanks to reduce interest rates this month
On July 29, Japan’s five megabanks released their home loan interest rates for the month of August. With the long-term interest rate kept within limits, all five banks will be reducing the base rate on 10-year fixed-rate mortgages.
Mampei Hotel to undergo 18-month refurbishment
The historic Mampei Hotel in Karuizawa will temporarily close from January 2023 to undergo an 18-month restoration and refurbishment. It is scheduled to re-open in 2024 to mark its 130-year anniversary.
Less than 3% of Kyoto's machiya avoid demolition
A recent attempt by Kyoto City to save its historic machiya townhouses has only resulted in 5 out of 170 properties avoiding demolition. Back in 2016, a survey found that as many as 800 traditional machiya townhouses in Kyoto were being demolished each year. With an estimated 40,000 machiya in the city, they could vanish within the next 50 years, leaving no trace of the city’s merchant past.