Construction starts on 32-storey apartment building in Tsukishima
A 32-storey, 122 meter tall residential building is under construction alongside Tsukishima’s Nishinaka Street in Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
The street, which is also known as Monja Street, is famous for being lined with over 70 restaurants serving monjayaki dishes.
The Tsukishima 1 Chome Nishinaka Street District Redevelopment (officially named 'Mid Tower Grand') is a 30 billion Yen project being lead by developers Marubeni, Mitsui Fudosan Residential and Taisei Construction. The building will contain around 500 apartments, as well as retail space and a pachinko parlor. Demolition and construction work began in March 2017 and completion is scheduled for late March 2021.Read more
Brokerage fees on cheap vacant homes may be increased
In order to encourage and promote the sale of long-vacant homes in Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is considering increasing the maximum commission that a real estate agency can charge on a transaction.
Real estate brokerage fees in Japan are currently capped at the following rates:
| Sale price: | Commission*: |
| < ¥2,000,000 | 5% |
| ¥2,000,000 ~ ¥4,000,000 | 4% + ¥20,000 |
| > ¥4,000,000 | 3% + ¥60,000 |
| *Consumption tax is then charged on top of the brokerage fees. | |
Under current laws, the maximum an agency could charge on the sale of a 3,000,000 Yen property is 140,000 Yen + consumption tax to their client. If they represent both the buyer and the seller, then can charge this to both parties. On a 2,000,000 Yen sale, the maximum commission is currently 100,000 Yen + consumption tax. The revision would apply to vacant properties sold below 4,000,000 Yen (approx. 36,000 USD).Read more
Lingerie company to start Kyoto machiya accommodation business
On May 30, Japanese lingerie company Wacoal Holdings announced that they will be starting an accommodation business that will feature Kyoto’s traditional machiya residences.
From early 2018 onwards, the company plans to renovate old machiya into hotel-like guesthouses targeting tourists, with two or three machiya to open next year. Their goal is to manage 50 machiya over the next five years with a total annual revenue of over 1 billion Yen (approx. 9 million USD).Read more
Japan’s first privately-developed condominium to be redeveloped
After 61 years, Japan’s first privately-developed condominium - Yotsuya Co-Plus - is going to be redeveloped. On May 30, all apartment owners in the 28-unit building voted in favor of redevelopment. Redevelopment discussions first began back in 2006.
Yotsuya Co-Plus was completed in October 1956. The 5-storey building had apartments ranging from 50 ~ 75 sqm (538 ~ 807 sq ft) in size. 24 of the 28 apartments were two-story maisonette-type units. When new, a 3-bedroom apartment would have sold for 2,330,000 Yen, which was about 20 times the annual salary of a university graduate and more than double the average cost of a detached house at the time. Home loans were also not very common in those days, so the developer offered the apartments for sale under monthly installment plans.
More than half of the apartments are currently owned by either the original owners or their heirs. In the past 30 years there have only been 2 reported resales in the building. Read more
Tokyo apartment sales in May 2017
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of May 2017:Read more
Mori Trust acquires historic Hakone hotel
On May 18, Mori Trust announced that they had acquired the historic Gora Kansuirou Hotel in Hakone. The transaction took place in March 2017. The sale price was not disclosed.
The Gora Kansuirou Hotel was built in 1921 as the holiday home for the third son of Yataro Iwasaki, founder of Mitsubishi. The 2-storey wooden villa was built on 7 lots of land purchased in 1916 in the Gora subdivision. A member of the Kan’in-no-miya branch of the Imperial Family fell in love with the area after spending a summer as a guest at the home 1928, and purchased half of the grounds from Iwasaki to build their own villa (now the Gora Kadan Hotel).Read more
Nara prison hotel to open in 2020
The 109-year old former Nara Juvenile Prison in Nara City will be converted into a hotel by 2020. On May 26, Japan’s Ministry of Justice announced that a group of 8 companies, led by Solare Hotels and Resorts, was the successful bidder for the project. A total of 3 groups submitted bids back in January.
The prison was built in 1908 and is the only surviving example of the Five Prisons of the Meiji era. The red brick prison was designed by architect Keijiro Yamashita. Yamashita worked for the Ministry of Justice from 1897 to 1930, and designed many prisons across the country.Read more