Apartment transactions down for 6th month
According to REINS, 2,938 apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in September, up 38.7% from the previous month but down 5.9% from last year. This is the 6th month in a row to see a decline from one year prior. The average apartment sale price across greater Tokyo was 27,500,000 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous month but up 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 424,600 Yen, down 2.8% from the previous month but up 3.7% from last year. The average building age was 19.81 years.
1,425 apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, up 42.1% from the previous month but down 8.6% from last year. This is the 6th month in a row to see a decline from one year prior. The average apartment sale price was 33,780,000 Yen, down 3.1% from the previous month but up 5.7% from last year. The average price per square meter was 568,200 Yen, down 3.3% from the previous month but up 7.6% from last year. The average building age was 18.72 years.Read more
Sumitomo Forestry announces new luxury home plans
Sumitomo Forestry announced a new luxury home design and construction service aimed at wealthy clients who are seeking meticulously designed and well-appointed residences.
A model house in the Komazawa Koen Housing Gallery in Setagaya-ku is scheduled to open on October 17, while pre-inspections are currently available by appointment only. Another model house will open in Nagoya City. Both homes were designed by Design Partner Group.
The Komazawa model house was designed to reflect contemporary and traditional Japanese styles in an urban setting. All rooms open onto a central courtyard which provides light, air flow and a spot for greenery. Interior designer Yukio Hashimoto was in charge of the interiors, with special touches including traditional Japanese plaster, lacquering, gold and silver leaf and shoji sliding doors. Read more
Earthquake-retrofitting an unpopular choice despite government assistance
Not far from Shin Osaka Station is a 11-storey, 40 year old apartment building that was built to the older earthquake codes (called kyu-taishin). A member of the building owners’ association said that the building has been carefully maintained over the years with new flooring in the common areas and re-painting of the exterior walls. However, no efforts have been made to retrofit the building for earthquakes. They are also yet to conduct any official earthquake-resistant building diagnosis, although they did consult with an architect several years ago. The architect’s opinion was that retrofitting was absolutely necessary and could cost around 100 million Yen.
The building, with 100 apartments, has 90 million Yen in the repair fund. If they were to carry out retrofitting, the building management and repair fees charged to each apartment owner would have to double. The issue about retrofitting is brought up each year at the owners’ association annual meeting, but those in favour are in the minority.Read more
Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - October 2014
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in October was 5.0%, down 0.6 points from the previous month and down 0.8 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.9%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and down 0.8 points from last year.
The vacancy rate remains unchanged at 9.9% in Minato-ku and 11.0% across Tokyo.
The average asking price of a secondhand apartment in Minato-ku was 797,243 Yen/sqm as of October 1, down 0.9% from the previous month but up 15.9% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,278,181 Yen/sqm, down 0.07% from the previous month but up 22.4% from last year.Read more
Tokyo apartment sales in September 2014
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of September 2014:Read more
Nara Dreamland for sale for 730 million Yen
On September 25, Nara City announced that they are putting the long-since closed Nara Dreamland site up for sale with an estimated price of 730 million Yen. Bids will be opened on November 11 with final payment due on November 18.
The sale includes 297,519 sqm of land with 75 buildings including a hotel, training centre, retail spaces, the amusement park buildings and rides, and offices. The park closed in 2006 and is largely overgrown and in a state of disrepair.