Government suspends construction of lodging house
Prime Minister Noda has confirmed that the government has suspended the construction of a 10.5 billion Yen (136 million Yen) lodging house for government workers in Asaka City, Saitama Prefecture. The government will pay the contractors 4 billion Yen (52 million USD) as compensation for the halt in construction. Construction began on September 1st, 2011, and was scheduled to be complete by June, 2013. The work is expected to be suspended for the next 5 years before resuming in 2016.
The site was the location of the former US Military Asaka Base. The plans were to build a two 13-storey residential buildings with a total of 850 apartments. The construction company was Obayashi Corporation.Read more
Revival of Karuizawa property market following March 11
Although land prices have been falling year on year in the popular resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, property transactions have increased since the March 11 Tohoku disaster as the power conservation and fear of radiation led people to seek safer and cooler locations outside of Tokyo.Read more
Japanese hotels being sold off due to lack of tourists
The effects of the March 11 Tohoku disaster have had wide-reaching consequences with hotels as far away as Hokkaido being forced to close their doors and sell due to a faltering tourism industry.Read more
$5 million price reduction on penthouse in Akasaka
The asking price for the full-floor penthouse at the top of Foretseine Akasaka Hikawacho has been reduced from a staggering 1.205 billion Yen to a still staggering price of 820 million Yen (10.6 million USD). This is a discount of 385 million Yen (5 million USD), or just over 30%.Read more
Real estate companies seeking compensation from TEPCO
Approximately 2000 real estate agents from Ibaraki Prefecture are seeking compensation from Tepco for loss of revenue caused by the various news reports and rumors surrounding radiation levels from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the neighboring prefecture.
On September 13th, the industry group submitted an official letter demanding restitution to Tepco's Ibaraki Office, in what is believed to be Tepco's first case where a real estate group has demanded compensation.Read more
Free farmhouses for evacuees
A new site called "Kominka Net" is providing a listing service for owners of empty Japanese farmhouses (or kominkas) to offer them free of charge as temporary accommodation to evacuees of the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster.Read more
Prices of large apartments in Tokyo fall in second half of 2011
The Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI) published their "Residential Market Index" report on price movements for apartments in Tokyo's 23 wards for the first half of 2011.Read more