Market Information – Page 160 – JAPAN PROPERTY CENTRAL K.K.

Tokyo's most expensive rental apartments

The Real Estate Economic Institute has released a report on the luxury rental apartment market in Tokyo's 23 Wards. Luxury apartments were defined as having a monthly rent of 300,000 JPY or higher. The findings are translated below:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japanese Land Values Decline at Slower Rate

A recovery in housing demand is slowing the decline in land values in Japan, according to a survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Of the surveyed locations, 45 had no decline in value, with 3 of those sites reporting an increase in value. Compared to results from previous quarters, the total number of locations reporting a decline in values was 70%, down from 82% from the last quarter, and 96% from the quarter before that.

Continue reading the full article at Bloomberg here.

by Zoe Ward

Apartment prices from 2007-2010

According to the following data, the average sales price per square meter of existing apartments in Tokyo appear to be increasing and are now on level with prices in mid-2007. Average prices for 2010 have continued to surpass the 2009 prices.

The following charts are provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Land Transaction Prices in Japan

If you are interested in finding out current and past market prices of land in Tokyo and other areas in Japan, the following website called the "Land General Information System" lists the real estate transaction prices of land sold in Japan since 2005. For privacy reasons, the exact address of each block of land is not published, but other details such as the size of the block, area and distance to nearest station are provided. Please be aware that not every transaction is published and there are sometimes errors in the sales data.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo Apartment Sales Movements

tokyo-apartment-sales-movements

The graph above shows the total inventory of apartments and the sales contract rates from 2008 to June, 2010.

A contract rate above 70% is considered to indicate favourable market conditions, while a rate under 70% is unfavourable.

Source: Real Estate Economic Institute Co., Ltd.

by Zoe Ward

Second-hand apartment prices in Tokyo continue to increase

According to Tokyo real estate service provider, Tokyo Kantei, the average price of a 70 sqm second-hand apartment in Tokyo's 23 Wards in May, 2010, was 43.05 million Yen. This is an increase of 9.5% from June of 2009. Prices in Saitama and Chiba Prefectures also saw increases, while Yokohama had a slight fall in prices.

In recent years, Tokyo has seen the supply of brand new apartments fall, and the focus shifted towards pre-existing units. With a decline in home-loan interest rates and and increase in certain tax exemptions on gift taxes, buyers have started returning to the market.

In the past, there was a clear difference in the market for brand new and second-hand apartments. But recently, there are more and more buyers who are comparing both brand new and second-hand apartments for purchase.

Nikkei Shimbun, July 16, 2010

by Zoe Ward

June apartment sales contracts return to high level

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the sales contract rate for apartments in Tokyo reached 83.9% in June, 2010 (an increase of 13.7 points from June, 2009). The last time we saw high levels was in August of 2005, when the contract rate was 89.1%.

This year has seen a clear improvement in contract rates, with January ~ June seeing favorable rates over the 70% threshold. The Real Estate Economic Institute believes this trend will continue.

The supply of apartments put up for sale increased by 66.6% compared to the previous year, with the average price being 46.94 million Yen (an increase of 3.3%).

Source: The Asahi Shimbun, July 15, 2010

by Zoe Ward