Construction to start on Foretseine Motoazabu 2 Chome project in July
Mori Trust is developing a luxury apartment building atop the Motoazabu neighbourhood in central Tokyo. Takenaka Corporation, one of Japan’s top construction giants, will start construction on Foretseine Motoazabu 2 Chome in July 2017. Completion is due for the end of December 2018. The 5-storey building will have just 17 spaciously sized apartments.
This project will be part of Mori’s 'Foretseine' brand of high-end residences. Their most recent project was Foretseine Akasaka Hinokizaka near Tokyo Midtown. When sales began in late 2014, apartments were priced between 1.5 ~ 2.8 million Yen/sqm and all apartments had sold off-the-plan prior to completion. Re-sale listings in 2016 have had an average asking price of around 3 million Yen/sqm.
The land is approximately 1,100 sqm in size, while the building will have a total floor area of 3,500 sqm (37,660 sq ft).Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in April 2017
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of April 2017:Read more
Floor space ratios may be relaxed for pre-1981 buildings in Tokyo
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is considering introducing regulations that would relax floor-space ratios when redeveloping old apartment buildings in the city. This would allow for the additional space to be sold by a real estate developer, which would help to cover the costs of redevelopment.
The target of the revision is condo-style apartment buildings that were built to the old earthquake codes (kyu-taishin). The major change to earthquake codes occurred in May 1981, with buildings built after this date meeting the current codes. Due to the time period from construction to completion, there are some buildings from 1982 that may have been built to the old ‘kyu-taishin’ codes.Read more
Historic restaurant in Nagasaki looking for buyer
The owner and operator of the 150-year old Fukiro Restaurant in Nagasaki City will be temporarily closing the restaurant later in the year while they search for a buyer of the historic property.
The owner, who is the 6th generation of the founder, made the difficult decision due to a shortage of staff and not having a successor. Annual revenues have also fallen to about 10% of what they were during the bubble years. The large building and traditional Japanese gardens are costly to maintain, which is putting a further strain on operations.Read more
Japan’s high-rise apartment market from 2017 to 2021 onwards
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, there are 285 high-rise residential buildings containing 106,321 apartments planned for completion across Japan from 2017 onwards. This is an increase of 47 buildings and 16,477 apartments from the previous survey point in March 2016.
76.1% of the apartments are located in the greater Tokyo area, where 186 high-rises containing 80,919 apartments are planned in the coming years. This is an increase of 40 buildings and 15,907 apartments from the 2016 survey.
52.2% of the future supply nationwide will be located in Tokyo’s 23 wards, with 124 buildings containing 55,519 apartments either under construction or planned for future construction. This is an increase of 32 buildings and 9,942 apartments from 2016.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices in March 2017
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo was 35,810,000 Yen in March 2017, down 0.1% from the previous month but up 5.8% from last year. The average building age was 22.5 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area the average asking price was 48,150,000 Yen, down 0.6% from the previous month but up 2.8% from last year. The average building age was 21.9 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 53,110,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 2.5% from last year. The average building age was 21.8 years.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya) the average asking price was 72,770,000 Yen, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 1.8% from last year. The average building age was 20.1 years.
Prices in central Osaka have shifted to a downwards trend since July 2016. In March, asking prices were 37,060,000 Yen, down 1.5% from the previous month.
Hakone Fujiya Hotel to close for 2 years for earthquake retrofitting
Last month, Hakone’s historic landmark Fujiya Hotel announced that they will be temporarily closing the hotel from April 2018 to conduct necessary earthquake retrofitting and refurbishment. The hotel will re-open in Spring 2020.
Fujiya Hotel’s main building was built in 1891 and is registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property along with the Comfy Lodge, Flower Palace and Kikka-so Inn Annex. Famous past guests have included Charlie Chaplin, Helen Keller, John Lennon, Prince Albert, Emperor Showa and the current Emperor and Empress of Japan.
The restaurant in the 122-year old Kikka-so Annex building, which was originally a holiday villa of the Imperial Family, will continue to operate as normal during the refurbishment.Read more