Real estate transactions by listed companies fall 40% in April-June

  • Pre-quake transactions for 1st qtr of 2011 were 788.3 billion Yen
  • Post-quake transactions for 2nd qtr of 2011 fall to 246.4 billion Yen
  • Companies expecting fall in earnings and profits
  • Reduced supply of properties
  • Power shortages mean no recovery expected until at least September, 2011

The total value of real estate transactions made by publicly listed companies between April and June, 2011, fell 40% to 246.4 billion Yen. This is the lowest level for this quater since 2003. Following the March 11 Tohoku Disaster, many sales were postponed and the property market quickly descended into chaos. With the supply of properties also falling, the market is expected to take a while before bottoming out.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Does your apartment building have earthquake insurance?

*If you own an apartment in Japan, you can take out optional earthquake insurance. This insurance only covers your apartment and does not cover the common areas of the building or the structure itself. The management association for the building can take out earthquake insurance on the common areas, but as it turns out, less than a third of all buildings are covered.

Owners of apartments in uninsured buildings are facing great repair bills as a result of the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo second-hand apartment sales down 10% in May

Real Estate Information Network for East Japan (REINS) announced their results for real estate transaction movements in the Tokyo area for the month of May, 2011.

A total of 2215 contracts were made on second-hand apartments. This is a fall of 10.7% compared to May of the previous year, and the second month of decline. In April, the decline was 14.4%. The average purchase price was down 0.5% to 25.31 million Yen (308,000 USD). The average apartment size was 65.09 sqm and average age was 18.19 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo Bayside Condominium Market - From Boom to Bust

Three months have now passed since the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The affected areas of Tokyo Bay are seeing a growing disparity between the desired purchase and selling prices of condominiums on the secondary market.

Difference of 10 million Yen between buyers and sellers

Buyers are anticipating a huge slump in prices for bayside apartments. On the other side, sellers are still hoping to sell their apartments at pre-earthquake values - a time when the bayside areas were seeing huge rises in popularity.Read more

by Zoe Ward

The 2011 Japan earthquake and what it means for the real estate market

One month has passed since the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. With strong aftershocks continuing and a nuclear disaster that was just upgraded to the maximum level, uncertainty remains over what will happen to the Japanese economy in the short and medium term.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Land values in central Tokyo increased as much as 70% since 2000

minamiaoyama4121

Land values in prime central Tokyo area have typically increased over the past 10 years. In some areas the increases have been as high as 71%.

Despite the Lehman Shock in 2008 where land prices have fallen, land values in 2010 are higher than they were in 2000.Read more

by Zoe Ward

More areas in Japan see increases in land prices

japan-land-price-movements-mlit

On February 24, 2011, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) announced the latest Japan-wide land price trends in their "Land Price LOOK Report" for January 1, 2011.

Of the 150 surveyed districts across Japan, 16 districts recorded increases in land prices compared to the previous period. Some of the areas which reported price increases are:Read more

by Zoe Ward