Japan's largest apartments

The following is a ranking of the residential buildings across Japan with the largest average apartment size. The original list was published in Tokyo Kantei's [Apartment Data White Paper 1956-2006].

These apartments were built during Japan's real estate bubble in the 1980s and early 1990s - a time when developers could sell units for very high prices. In current times, Japanese developers focus on providing smaller units (eg. 60-80sqm) as these can be sold faster. It is now rare to see a new building where the majority of the units are over 150sqm.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Is it really smart to buy a South-facing apartment?

When looking at an apartment to buy or rent in Japan, everyone is told to look for places that are south-facing as these rooms get the most sunlight throughout the day and year round. Real estate search engines even have "South-facing" as a search option.

As such, South-facing apartments command a premium price over units facing other directions. Many consider North-facing to be the most undesirable as it receives the least direct sunlight. It would seem safe to assume that purchasing a South-facing apartment would be a sure-bet. But is this really the case?

an apartment facing which direction will increase in value after you purchase?

A recent survey by Attractors Lab has shown some interesting results. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japan investment property returns increase by as much as 2% over past 3 years

Data released by Japanese real estate company, First Logic, has shown the average return from an investment building in Japan has increased by as much as 2% over the past 3 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Pro-baseballer sued for not paying sales brokerage

A pro-baseball player from the Hanshin Tigers was recently involved in a court dispute over refusal to pay brokerage fees for an apartment he purchased with his wife in Kobe City.

On January 21, 2011, the Kobe District Court ordered Takashi Toritani and his wife to pay 1,000,000 JPY (12,000 USD) to the Kobe real estate agent who brokered the transaction in September, 2009.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Mitsui Real Estate ties up with Beijing Homelink

Mitsui Real Estate Sales announced a new venture with Beijing Homelink Real Estate Service Brokerage, the biggest property agency in Beijing, to offer brokerage services for wealthy Chinese looking to purchase apartments in Japan.

Mitsui is also considering starting a specialized property consulting service in Beijing in 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Central Tokyo prices up 1.9% in 2010

On January 13th, 2011, Mitsui Fudosan announced the 2010 residential price movements. Prices in Tokyo rose 1.0% in 2010, compared with a 4.5% decline in 2009 after the Lehman Shock. This is the first increase since 2007. An improvement in economic conditions as well as the expansion in mortgage tax reductions were cited as reasons for the increase. For Tokyo's 23 Wards, the price increase was 1.9%. In Yokohama and Kawasaki, the prices increased by 0.4%.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Minato-ku apartment prices increased 61% over past decade

An apartment consulting company, Total Brain, has analyzed condominium apartment prices in Tokyo's central 6 wards (Minato, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Chiyoda, Chuo and Bunkyo ku) from the year 2000 to 2010.

The average apartment price in all of these areas has risen, but Shibuya had the lowest price increase. The area with the highest increase in average prices was Minato-ku with an increase of 61%.Read more

by Zoe Ward