Japanese investors heading offshore following March 11

The president of Stasia Capital wrote about the recent changes in investment strategies made by wealthy Japanese and how the events of 2011 created a turning point in the mindset and actions of Japanese investors.

--Inward facing Japanese investors--

Over the past 20 years, private Japanese investors have been relatively wary of investing overseas, but in the past 2 ~ 3 years, private investors began to shift their funds overseas.

This is due to:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Danchi reconstruction cancelled due to liquefaction

Reconstruction plans for the Sodegaura Danchi public housing project in Chiba's Narashino City have been put on hold as the recent liquefaction in the area caused by the March 11 Tohoku earthquake has deterred potential buyers for apartments in the new project.

The Sodegaura Danchi was built in 1967 and has 250 units. It is built on reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay and is a 45 minute drive from central Tokyo. A 3-bedroom apartment in the complex can be rented for as low as 60,000 Yen/month (780 USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Is 2012 the time to buy?

Good news for those waiting to buy an apartment. From next year, the inventory of unsold apartments is expected to reach high levels, which could result in more bargain buys.

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the sales contract rate for new apartments in September, 2011, had rebounded to 78%. In actuality, that degree of sales may not actually be true. The president of Attractors Lab said that the 'sales contract rate' is not entirely accurate because it does not include apartments that were held back from being released for sale.

In January, 2011, the Institute forecast an inventory of 50,000 apartments for the year. However, this was later reduced to an estimate of 45,000 apartments. The impact of the March 11 Tohoku disaster led many developers to delay apartment sales. By September, the actual supply was down to 28,000 units. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Vacant home owners at risk of punishment

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there were 7,570,000 empty homes across Japan in 2008. Poorly maintained properties pose fire and crime risks and can also be a hazard in a natural disaster. However, there are currently no yet nation-wide laws to deal with such potentially dangerous properties.

Instead, individual cities and prefectures are starting to introduce their own "Vacant House Regulations" to combat this problem. Last year, a total of nine cities and/or prefectures including Tokorozawa (Saitama), Matsui (Shimane) and Wakayama Prefecture introduced such regulations. A further 9 areas ranging from Tohoku to Kyushu also have plans to enact similar ordinances. Read more

by Zoe Ward

More Taiwanese buying Japanese real estate since 3-11?

According to Taiwanese media reports, the number of Taiwanese buying real estate in Japan is steadily increasing.

In 2010, one of Taiwan's largest real estate agencies, Sinyi Realty, established a branch in Japan. The China Times reported that in the 7 months following the Tohoku disaster, Sinyi sold 68 Japanese properties to Taiwanese buyers with a total value of 2.75 billion Yen (35 million USD).

The company president said that buyers were actually more fearful of a stockmarket crash than an earthquake, so they are seeing an increasing number of Taiwanese who view purchasing Japanese real estate as a way of managing their funds. Of the 68 properties, 39 were in brand new developments. This highlights the trend of Taiwanese buyers to prefer new over older apartments. The president also said that approximately 50 Taiwanese travel to Japan each month to view properties.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment developments around Tokyo Sky Tree

The area surrounding the new Tokyo Sky Tree in Sumida-ku is seeing more and more new condominiums hit the market. Developers are promoting properties that are within walking distance to, or have views of the new tower.

In July, Sumitomo Corporation began selling apartments in "City House Narihirabashi Station Court" which is just a 4 minute walk to Sky Tree. The price of a 2-bedroom apartment in this building is around 40 million Yen (512,000 USD) which is comparatively higher than surrounding buildings. Although only a portion of the 35 apartments have views of the Sky Tree, most of the apartments offered for sale in the initial sales period have been sold.  Sumitomo's PR department said that the new retail development around the base of the Sky Tree will add to the convenience of the neighborhood, as will gradual improvements to the surrounding streets. Buyers are anticipating that the neighborhood's image will improve over time.Read more

by Zoe Ward

70 - 80 percent drop in rosenka land values in Tohoku

In order to account for changes in land values due to the March 11 Tohoku disaster, Japan's National Tax Agency (NTA) announced adjustment ratios, or scaling factors, for the 2011 rosenka (prices of land fronting major roads). Along with the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake, this is only the second time in history that adjustment ratios have been introduced.Read more

by Zoe Ward