Voting rules may change to speed up earthquake-retrofitting
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is considering bringing in relief measures that will reduce the number of votes needed by apartment owners when deciding on earthquake-retrofitting.
Currently, a majority vote is needed for small repairs, but if the building association wishes to carry out large-scale repairs which may include earthquake-retrofitting, at least 75% of apartment owners must agree to the repairs. Proposed changes by the MLIT would change this to a majority vote. Read more
Park Tower Shibuya Honcho close to selling out
Mitsui's new condominium in Shibuya-ku is close to selling out, despite completion being eight months away. Sales in the 21-storey building first began in late 2012, and by the end of the year over 100 of the 142 apartments had contracts on them. As many as 30 ~ 40 potential buyers visit the showroom each weekend, so it seems very possible that the remaining apartments will soon be sold.
The average apartment price is approximately 912,000 Yen/sqm (roughly 10,000 USD/sqm), while the average price for apartments in the second stage of sales is 888,000 Yen/sqm. A 1-bedroom is priced from 41,300,000 Yen, while 2-bedroom apartments start from 48,200,000 Yen.Read more
A look at the demolition of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka
The demolition of the 140m tall Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka is underway with the building now standing at three-quarters of its original height.
The work is being carried out by a joint venture between Taisei Corporation and Seibu Construction using the 'Taisei Ecological Reproduction System' (Teco-Rep System). Assistant Director of Taisei's Construction Engineering Development Department, Mr. Hideki Ichihara, explains the process:Read more
Dai-ichi Life Insurance to invest in residential
The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company has recently started investing in small-to-medium sized rental apartment buildings. According to Dai-ichi, insurance premiums collected from consumers are invested in government bonds, shares and acquiring office buildings.
Following the Lehman Shock, office rents dropped by a large degree, but the drop in residential rent was relatively smaller. Dai-ichi hope to achieve some stability by adding residential properties to their portfolio. They are targeting studio ~ 2-bedroom rental buildings as they are anticipating strong demand from singles and couples.Read more
How much will distance from the station affect rent?
The walking distance from the nearest train station is a major factor when searching for an apartment or house in Japan. The closer to the station, the higher the rent. So, how much does rent change as you look at places that are 5, 10 and 15 minutes away?
The following is a translation of an interview between a writer and real estate agent that appeared on the MyNavi news site on January 3, 2013:
-- Where I live the difference in rent is approximately 10,000 Yen/month between a property 5 minutes from the station and one that is 10 minutes away. Are other areas the same?
Although it will depend on the area, that would be the approximate difference in rent that you will see. For properties over a 10 minute walk, the rent will be even lower. As for one-room studio apartments, there is almost a 30% difference in rent between properties that are 5 minutes and 10 minutes away.Read more
Studio apartment sale listings reach all-time high
The number of secondhand 'one-room' or studio apartments listed for sale in greater Tokyo has reached an all-time high. According to Tokyo Kantei, as many as 70,000 units were listed in 2012, an increase of almost 10% from 2011.
Many of the studios were built during the bubble period from the late 1980s to 1990 and are hitting the market as investors show a trend towards reducing their asset holding time.Read more