New apartment supply drops 35.8% in March
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,142 brand-new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in March, down 35.8% from last year. This is the lowest level seen for the month of March since 1992.
A total of 1,500 apartments sold within the first month of sales, resulting in a contract ratio of 70.0% - a 2.2 point decrease from last year.
Never waste a good crisis: Where are the current opportunities in Japan’s real estate market?
We have been receiving quite a few inquiries over the past couple of months from buyers looking to pick up some bargains amidst the current turmoil. After several years of being a strong sellers' market, the real estate market in Japan has made an abrupt about-turn and has shifted into a buyers' market from around mid-March onwards.
And yes, while there are some bargain sales out there, buyers need to know where to look.
Tokyo office vacancy rate increases for first time in 9 months
In March, the office vacancy rate across Tokyo’s central five business districts increased for the first time in 9 months. The vacancy rate reported by Miki Shoji was 1.50%, up 0.01 points from the previous month, but down 0.28 points from last year.
Tokyo secondhand apartment prices see first drop in 15 months
According to REINS, 3,642 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in March, down 2.9% from the previous month and down 11.5% from last year. The average sale price was 34,890,000 Yen, down 0.03% from last year. The average price per square meter was 540,500 Yen, up 0.2% from last year.
How to follow Japan's real estate market in a rapidly changing environment
Real estate price indexes tend to be published 3 months after the fact, so anyone looking for up-to-the-minute details on the impact that the coronavirus is having on Japan’s real estate market needs to consider other sources of information.
70% of real estate companies report impact from coronavirus fears
Earlier in March, real estate information provider Lifull conducted a survey of 925 real estate companies to see how the coronavirus situation was affecting them. Over 70% reported that their operations were already being impacted, while 91.9% were concerned about the future effects that this virus would have on their business activities.
Business mood in real estate sector sees biggest drop since 2011 earthquake
The general business mood in March has worsened for the six month in a row according to credit research firm Teikoku Databank. The diffusion index (DI) of confidence from a survey of 11,330 companies across various industries dropped 6.2 points from February to 32.5. A month-on-month drop of this magnitude has not been seen since April 2014 which recorded a 4.2 point decline.