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

by Zoe Ward

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

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in July - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo's 5 central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) in July was 8.29%, down 0.17 points from last month and down 1.01 points from last year. Vacancy rates were down in four of the five business districts.

The vacancy rate in new buildings was 12.72%, up 1.12 points from last month but down 20.92 points from last year. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - August 2013

According to real estate listing site Homes, the average yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in August 2013 was 5.7%, down 0.3 points from last month. The average yield across Tokyo was 8.1%, up 0.1 points from July.

The vacancy rate was 9.9% in Minato-ku and 11.0% across Tokyo. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment price-to-book ratios in 2013

Tokyo Kantei has released their 2013 report on the price-to-book ratios for apartments in greater Tokyo. The data is arranged by train station.

Apartments around Omotesando Station saw the best gain in re-sale value with a PBR of 1.41. Other high-ranking areas include Shinagawa (1.31), Tamachi (1.26), Shirokane Takanawa (1.23) and Toranomon (1.20) stations.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment market enters bullish territory

In the first half of 2013, Tokyo's apartment market (including new and old apartments) transitioned to a bullish market.

According to Nomura Real Estate Urban Net's residential land and second-hand apartment price movement survey, prices were up in most areas in greater Tokyo in the second quarter of 2013.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment price to income ratio worsens in 2012

According to data released by Tokyo Kantei on July 30, the average price of a brand new apartment in Japan was 6.53 times the average annual income, while a second-hand apartment (less than 10 yrs old) was 4.56 times the average income.

While apartment prices are rising, income levels are still declining. The average annual income in 2012 fell 4.6% to 4,170,000 Yen. This is the third year in a row where incomes have fallen.Read more

by Zoe Ward