New apartment supply to return to pre-Lehman levels in 2013

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the supply of new apartments offered for sale in greater Tokyo in March 2013 was 5,318 units - 48.4% higher than March 2012. Developers have been pushing forward their sales dates in order to capitalise on an expected last-minute rush before the first consumption tax increase hits consumers in 2014. 

The total supply of new apartments in 2013 is expected to exceed 50,000 units for the first time since 2007. In 2012, the supply was down 3.5% from the previous year to 46,754 apartments and the contract rate was 76.7%. The contract rate for March 2013 was 82.1%.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in March - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's Office Report for March 2013, the vacancy rate in Tokyo's central business districts of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya dropped by 0.01 points to 8.56%.

In Chiyoda-ku, the vacancy rate dropped 0.07 points to 6.59% as tenants began to move into recently completed Ochanomizu Sola City and existing buildings saw tenants combine their business operations in one space. Read more

by Zoe Ward

30+ year old apartments and houses growing in popularity

According to REINS the share of properties sold that are over 30 years old is growing. In 2012, the average age of an apartment sold in greater Tokyo was 18.97 years, 0.70 years higher than 2011. Apartments over 30 years old comprised 20.6% of total second-hand apartment sales - up from 18.20% in 2011. The average age of a house sold was 19.71 years, up 0.34 years from 2011. Houses over 30 years old comprised 18.5% of total second-hand house sales - up from 17.5% in 2011. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in February - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's Tokyo Office Report, the average office vacancy rate in Tokyo's central five wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) in February was 8.57% - up 0.01 points from the previous month but 0.58 points lower than February 2012.

Three new office buildings were completed in February, but due to their relatively high occupancy rates the new supply had only a minor effect on the total vacancy rate.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo's apartment market summary for 2012

The following is a summary of findings from the Real Estate Economic Institute's report on the apartment market in greater Tokyo in 2012:

  • 45,602 new apartments hit the market in 2012, an increase of 2.5% from 2011. This is far below the record of 95,635 new units that were available in 2000. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Rents up across Japan

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average rent for a condominium apartment (one with a private landlord, rather than a rental-only building) increased in Japan's three major regions in December.

The average monthly rent in greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba) in December increased by 3.0% from the previous month to 2,540 Yen/sqm, although it remains 1.1% lower than December 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Vacancy rate for distribution facilities at low level

Prologis Park Zama 2

According to research by Ichigo Real Estate Service, the vacancy rate for distribution facilities in greater Tokyo in October 2012 was 2.5%. While this figure has increased by 0.2% since the last data collection in July, it remains at a very low level.

With the completion of Prologis Park Zama 2 in August, the new supply of distribution facilities reached a three year high of 808,500 sqm (8,699,460 sqft). Most of the new space was taken up by demand, which reached 735,000 sqm (7,918,284 sqft). This helped to limit the rise in the vacancy rate.Read more

by Zoe Ward