Prices of large apartments in Tokyo fall in second half of 2011

The Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI) published their "Residential Market Index" report on price movements for apartments in Tokyo's 23 wards for the first half of 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Land prices across Japan continue to fall after the Tohoku disaster

On September 20, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) published the results of the nationwide land price survey (chika-chosa) as of July 1, 2011. Overall, land values fell by 3.4% from the year before with residential land falling by 3.2% and commercial land values falling by 4.0% over the same period. In 2010, residential land values fell by 3.4% and commercial land fell by 4.6% so the rate of decline has lessened slightly.Read more

by Zoe Ward

The demise of security deposits and key money

Good news for tenants and bad news for landlords in Japan: A change in the traditional transaction customs in the residential and commercial rental market in Japan is underway which is putting more power on the tenants' side.

The various fees usually paid by a tenant such as security deposits (shikikin) and key money (reikin) are decreasing.  Japan's declining birth rates, decreasing population, oversupply of housing and the growing awareness of consumer rights have put an end to the era where landlords once held all of the power.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Who said all Japanese apartments lose their value immediately after purchase?

Minamiaoyama Masters House by Marubeni

Real estate marketing and research firm, Attractors Lab, has compiled a list of the apartment developers and the resale value of their apartments 10 years after completion. In top spot was Marubeni Corporation.

The data is based on apartments built in the last 10 years that were listed for sale on the secondary market in 2010. The purchase price when brand new was compared to the asking price when the property was re-listed in 2010. The data only included developers who have built over 30 buildings.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Second-hand apartment prices in Tokyo rise after 3 months but stockpile of unsold units reach highest recorded level

According to the Real Estate Information Network for East Japan (REINS), the average price of an apartment on the secondary market in greater Tokyo increased for the first time in three months.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates and vacant floorspace down in August

Sanko Estate released their "Office Market" data report for high-rise office buildings with a floor plate of 660sqm or higher in Tokyo's central 5 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) for the month of August, 2011. According to their data, the vacancy rate for August was 5.66% - down 0.45% from July.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Average apartment management fees increased by 3.3%

According to the most recent survey by the Real Estate Economic Institute, the average monthly management fee for an apartment in greater Tokyo was 223.72 Yen/sqm in 2010, an increase of 3.3% from 2009.Read more

by Zoe Ward