Supply of investment-type apartments up in 2016

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the supply of brand new investment-type apartments in the greater Tokyo area in the first half of 2016 reached 4,121 units, up 19.3% from the first half of 2015.

Increasing construction costs and high land prices are forcing developers to focus on projects outside of Tokyo’s city centre. The highest supply was in Kawasaki City’s Kawasaki Ward which had 603 brand new investment apartments.

The average apartment price was 27,540,000 Yen, up 1.7% from 2015. The average price per square meter was 1,113,000 Yen, up 5.2% from 2015. The average apartment size was 24.75 sqm (266 sf), 3.3% smaller than last year.

34.0% of the apartments were priced under 25,000,000 Yen (the share in the first half of 2015 was 45.2%). Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment supply in Tokyo down for 8th month

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 3,317 brand new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in July, up 8.8% from the previous month but down 30.7% from last year. This is the 8th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline in supply.

A shortage in the construction of large-scale projects has been a contributing factor to the decrease in supply.

2,101 apartments were sold, resulting in a contract ratio of 63.3%, down 6.3 points from the previous month and down 20.4 points from last year. 220 apartments in high-rise buildings (over 20-storeys) were offered for sale, down 87.2% from last year. The contract ratio was 54.1%, down 26.9 points from the previous month and down 38.2 points from last year.

The average price of a new apartment across greater Tokyo was 56,560,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month and down 5.0% from last year. The average price per square meter was 806,000 Yen, down 2.1% from the previous month and down 5.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment re-sale rankings by station in 2016

Tokyo Kantei released their 2016 report on price-to-book ratios (PBR) for apartments in greater Tokyo. The PBR represents the change in value of an apartment since it was brand new. The data is arranged by train station.

Roppongi Itchome Station: PBR 1.56

Roppongi Itchome Station was in top position in greater Tokyo, with a PBR of 1.56. The average price of an apartment when brand new was 101,550,000 Yen, while the average resale price was 158,850,000 Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo metro apartment prices increase for 46th consecutive month

According to REINS, 3,190 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in July, up 3.9% from the previous month and up 13.6% from last year. The average sale price was 29,990,000 Yen, down 0.6% from the previous month but up 4.5% from last year. The average price per square meter was 473,300 Yen, down 0.9% from the previous month but up 4.7% from last year. This is the 43rd month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 20.46 years.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area 1,592 second-hand apartments were sold, up 0.6% from the previous month and up 13.3% from last year. The average sale price was 37,470,000 Yen, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 7.7% from last year. The average price per square meter was 635,000 Yen, down 1.1% from the previous month but up 5.3% from last year. This is the 46th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 18.79 years.

Central Tokyo’s 3 wards

In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 205 second-hand apartments were sold, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 24.2% from last year. The average sale price was 54,010,000 Yen, up 4.1% from the previous month but down 0.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 1,010,400 Yen, up 1.5% from the previous month but down 0.8% from last year. The average building age was 15.83 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japan’s new apartment price-to-income ratios reach 24 year high

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average price of a brand new apartment across Japan in 2015 was 7.66 times the average annual income, up 0.49 points from 2014. This is the highest ratio seen since 1992, when the ratio was 7.64. Average new apartment prices increased by 7.1% from 2014, while incomes increased by only 0.2%.

The price-to-income ratio of a brand new apartment apartment in greater Tokyo was 10.99, up 1.31 points from 2014. The average price of a 70 sqm apartment was estimated at 56,160,000 Yen in 2015, up 12.7% from 2014. For the first time since the asset bubble in 1990 all three prefectures and the Tokyo metropolitan area in greater Tokyo had price-to-income ratios of 10 and higher.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Forecast of new apartment prices for next 10 years

According to a medium-term forecast by the Japan Real Estate Institute, the price of brand new apartments in Tokyo’s 23 wards is expected to shift to a downwards trend from 2021. This would coincide with the release of the apartments built for the 2020 Olympics Athlete’s Village onto the market.

In 2016, the average price of a brand new apartment is expected to increase by 2.5% from 2015, with the price per square meter reaching 959,000 Yen/sqm. Prices are forecast to continue to increase over the next few years by around 0.2 ~ 1.2% annually, which is a slower rate than the 6.1% in 2014 and 8.9% seen in 2015.Read more

by Zoe Ward