Average secondhand apartment prices for June only increase in Osaka

Tokyo Kantei has announced the average sale prices for secondhand apartments across Japan for the month of June, 2011.

In the greater Tokyo area, the average price was 29,750,000 Yen (376,580 USD). This is a fall of 0.7% from the month before, and a fall of 3.5% from June of 2010. It is also the first time in 17 months that prices have fallen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Historic lodging house "Hongokan" to be demolished in August

hongokan-exterior-1

Built in 1905, Hongokan is Japan's oldest 3-storey wooden lodging house. The L-shaped building has approximately 70 rooms and a total floorspace of 1500 sqm which is very large in scale for a wooden structure.

It was built by an aristocratic family from Gifu Prefecture and was initially used as a boarding house for the Tokyo Girl's Highschool (now known as Ochanomizu Women's College), but soon became a high-grade lodging house that provided luxury accommodation.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo office rents at historically low levels

Miki Shoji announced on July 7 that office rents for commercial properties in central Tokyo have fallen 4% in the past 12 months and are now at the lowest levels ever seen since data collection began.

A major contributing factor to this fall are the companies who are seeing lower earnings as a result of the March 11 Tohoku disaster and can no longer pay high rent for their office space.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New certificates to be issued for earthquake-resistant buildings

Starting in Fall, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will issue certificates for free to buildings that satisfy current earthquake-resistance standards. The certificates will cover office buildings, apartments and houses and will be issued to all who apply.

The certificate can be displayed at the building entrance to put building occupants at ease. While self-governing bodies have been creating assistance measures, there are over 500,000 buildings in Tokyo that do not meet minimum earthquake-resistance levels. The city hopes that the introduction of the certificate will encourage owners of unsafe buildings to have them upgraded.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Rent for condominium-type apartments down in June

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent for a condominium-type apartment in greater Tokyo for the month of June has fallen compared to the previous month.

Average Rent:

  • Tokyo City: 2960 Yen/sqm, down 0.5%
  • Kanagawa: 2027 Yen/sqm, down 0.6%
  • Saitama: 1620 Yen/sqm, down 1.6%
  • Chiba: 1593 Yen/sqm, down 0.2%

Read more

by Zoe Ward

New condominium supply down 32.9% in Tokyo area

The Real Estate Economic Institute announced that new apartments offered for sale in the greater Tokyo area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba) have fallen to 3441 units in June, 2011. This is a steep fall of 32.9% from June of 2010.

This is being attributed to the March 11 Tohoku disaster which has led to consumers putting off purchases of large-ticket items and has caused developers to delay sales of new properties. Developers are anticipating a recovery from Fall, 2011, so the supply of apartments in the Tokyo area is expected to increase in a few months time.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Temporary upswing in real estate market in Sendai

The 2011 rosenka land valuations released by the National Tax Agency on July 1st showed a decline in land prices across Japan for the third continuous year. Concern is rising, however, over a large scale crash in prices in areas of Northern Japan that were affected by the Tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant where real estate transactions have almost ceased.

Sendai City, on the other hand, is experiencing a hike in emergency demand from displaced residents.Read more

by Zoe Ward