Cabinet decision to reduce voting ratio to sell apartment building & land

The Cabinet has approved a reform to the apartment redevelopment law which will lower the voting ratio required before an apartment building and land can be sold. Previously, 100% of apartment owners had to be in agreement before the building and land could be sold, but the revision will reduce this ratio to 80%. 

It is hoped that the loosening of the regulations will encourage the demolition and redevelopment of ageing buildings and reduce the number of buildings at risk of collapse in an earthquake. It could also open up opportunities for developers to re-purpose the use of the land from residential to commercial.

The decision will be submitted to the ordinary session of the Diet in mid-March and could be enacted within 6 months.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japanese homeowner in US Navy housing suing Japanese Government

Yokohama Negishi Heights 1

Living in a gated estate with high security might be considered desirable to some, but to one Japanese family in Yokohama it has been a nightmare. 

A Japanese couple who own a house and land located within the US Navy's Negishi Heights Housing Complex in Yokohama are suing the Japanese government for 115 million Yen damages after suffering a lifetime of inconvenience and hardship caused by the various hassles that come with living in an armed forces compound. Oral proceedings are scheduled for February 28 in the Yokohama District Court. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Minamiaoyama land sold for 13 billion Yen

Meiji Jisho, a company affiliated with Cerberus Capital Management, has sold a 1,916 sqm block of land in Minamiaoyama 3 Chome to Shimizu Corporation. The deal is estimated to be around 13 billion Yen (6,785,000 Yen/sqm). 

The land is currently a parking lot and fronts onto Aoyama Dori Avenue.

An adjoining 2,500 sqm site was sold by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) in March 2013 for 5.6 billion Yen (2,240,000 Yen/sqm). It was reported that the buyer was City Index Seven - related to the Murakami Fund. UR's landholding is more scattered with private roads and a smaller street frontage.

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by Zoe Ward

Kitakyushu modernist buildings at risk of demolition

Yahata City Meeting Hall Yahata Library
Left: Yahata City Meeting Hall; Right: Yahata Library

Two buildings designed by modernist architect Togo Murano are at risk of demolition as the rising maintenance costs are proving too much for the city's finances. The Yahata City Meeting Hall (1958) and Yahata Library (1955) are located in Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in January - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's office report, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo's five central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 7.18% in January, down 0.16 points from the previous month and down 1.38 points from January 2013. Vacancy rates have been decreasing for the past 7 months.

The vacancy rate in brand new buildings was 14.42%, down 0.08 points from the previous month and down 9.79 points from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka Sold Out

Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka 2

All 36 apartments in Mitsui Fudosan's Park Mansion Akasaka Hikawazaka have now sold out. 

The two and three-bedroom apartments were priced from 164 ~ 680 million Yen. With an average price of 2,190,000 Yen/sqm (2,000 USD/sqft), this is among the most expensive apartment buildings in Tokyo. Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in January

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 1,826 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in January, down 77.9% from the previous month but up 6.1% from January 2013. 

The contract rate for the month was 78.6%, up 2.5 points from the previous month and up 9.4 points from last year.

The average apartment price was 46,370,000 Yen, down 1.8% from last year. The average price per square meter was 660,000 Yen, down 4.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward