Second-hand apartment transactions reach record high in 2016

REINS released their annual report on transaction data for greater Tokyo in 2016. The key points from the report are:

Second-hand apartments:

  • Transactions increased for the second year in a row and reached a record high.
  • Average sale price exceeded 30 million Yen for the first time in 22 years.
  • Average sale prices per square meter increased for the fourth year in a row.

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New apartment supply in greater Tokyo reaches 24-year low

The supply of new apartments in greater Tokyo in 2016 reached a 24-year low with 35,772 apartments offered for sale. This represented a decrease of 11.6% from 2015 and was the lowest level seen since 1992. Developers have been restricting supply amidst rising construction costs, rising land prices and stagnant wages of potential buyers. Development sites in prime locations once earmarked for residential are being converted to office and hotel projects which can provide better returns.

Existing properties that have been renovated are now proving popular with buyers who would have once only considered buying new, which is putting further pressure on new apartment sales. In fact, a record high number of second-hand apartments sold in greater Tokyo in 2016. There were 37,189 reported sales, up 6.9% from 2015. Second-hand apartment sales exceeded new apartment sales by over 50%.

The average contract ratio for the year was 68.8%, which is below the 70% line said to indicate positive market conditions, and is the lowest ratio seen since 2009.Read more


Toshiba sells west Tokyo factory for 10 billion Yen

Toshiba has sold their Oume Factory in west Tokyo, to Nomura Real Estate for approximately 10 billion Yen (89 million USD). The factory, which has been used for the production of computers and televisions, is scheduled to close at the end of March. Nomura plans to construct a logistics facility on the site with construction to start in 2018.Read more


Average apartment rent in December 2016

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium-type apartment in greater Tokyo was 2,720 Yen/sqm in December 2016, down 0.7% from the previous month but up 3.5% from December 2015. The average apartment size was 59.84 sqm and the average building age was 20.2 years.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average monthly rent was 3,198 Yen/sqm, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 1.0% from 2015. The average apartment size was 57.69 sqm and the average building age was 18.2 years.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average monthly rent was 3,353 Yen/sqm, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 1.3% from last year. The average apartment size was 57.02 sqm and the average building age was 17.7 years.

Rents in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are all down around 1% from 12 months prior.

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Luxury hotel planned for historic site in Nara Park

Nara Prefecture is accepting bids from private companies for a hotel development to be located within the Nara Park grounds in Nara City. The 1.3 hectare site is located on the southern side of Nara Park’s Ukimi-do Hall, and was purchased by the prefecture from the national government in 2005.

Prior to the Meiji Restoration, the property was home to one of Kofuku-ji’s sub-temples. In 1890 it was sold to Nara poet Haruyasu Umeda (1850-1917). From 1911, it became the holiday villa of Kenshiro Yamaguchi (1886-1957), a wealthy banker and president of the Kansai Trust Bank (the predecessor of the Toyo Trust Bank, which is now part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation). After WWII, the annex of the Nara Family Court was built on the land. The land is currently vacant although traces of the original Japanese garden remain.Read more


Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 51st month

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According to  REINS, 2,993 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in December, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 17.7% from December 2015. This is the fourth month in a row to see an increase in transactions from 12 months prior. The average sale price was 31,220,000 Yen, down 1.6% from the previous month but up 9.0% from the previous year. The average price per square meter was 497,800 Yen, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 9.5% from the previous year. This is the 51st month in a row to see a year-on-year increase. The average building age was 20.73 years.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area 1,542 second-hand apartments were sold, down 0.7% from the previous month but up 19.8% from the previous year. This is the 9th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in transactions. The average sale price was 39,080,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 9.3% from the previous year. The average price per square meter was 670,200 Yen, up 1.5% from the previous month and up 9.9% from the previous year. The average building age was 19.37 years.

In the last quarter of 2016, 129 apartments priced over 100 million Yen were reported to have sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, up 41.8% from the last quarter of 2015, and a record for the year of 2016. Total sales for the 2016 year were up 20.8% from 2015 and almost four times the number of transactions in 2011.

 

Central Tokyo’s 3 wards

 

In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato) 230 second-hand apartments were sold, up 12.2% from the previous month and up 45.6% from the previous year. This is the highest number of recorded transaction for the month of December since record-keeping began in 2008, and is double the average seen between 2008 and 2012.

Past transactions in central Tokyo’s 3 wards in December:

  • 2016: 230
  • 2015: 158
  • 2014: 152
  • 2013: 171
  • 2012: 116
  • 2011: 114
  • 2010: 123
  • 2009: 98
  • 2008: 105

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Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi sold to Kobe-based hotel operator

Hotel Management International (HMI Hotel Group) will acquire the Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka, in March. The seller is Yamaha Corporation. The sale price has not been announced.Read more