Apartment rents reach record high in Tokyo, decline elsewhere
The average asking rent of an apartment in Tokyo’s 23 wards reached a record high of 4,851 Yen per square meter in July. This is the sixth consecutive month to set a new price record. Rents were up 1.0% from the previous month and 12.2% from last year. Meanwhile, Yokohama, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, and Kobe city all saw a drop in year-on-year rents. Read more
Tokyo apartment rents hit new high in June
Asking rents in Tokyo’s 23 wards reached 4,803 Yen per square meter in June, up 2.4% from the previous month and up 10.8% from last year. The increase is somewhat the result of a larger share in brand-new and near-new apartments, especially luxury apartments in central Tokyo, that have pulled up the average.Read more
Tensions rise over minpaku conversions
Short-term rental conversions are becoming a growing source of tension in Japan’s multi-family sector, with some landlords attempting to illegally force out long-term tenants to make way for profitable short-term guests. At the same time, neighbors are increasingly raising complaints about noise, security, and trash issues. In Osaka City, where ‘minpaku’ (short-term letting) rules are the most relaxed in the country, resident backlash is starting to gain momentum, with city officials now considering launching a project team to introduce countermeasures.Read more
Build-to-rent developers going bathless in Japan?
There has been a long-held belief that apartments with full bath tubs are a lot easier to lease out than ones with just showers, no matter how small the apartment. Few build-to-rent developers have been willing to take the risk to go bathless in their projects. But, with a younger generation of tenants, and new pressures in the rental market, some are taking the plunge with shower-only offerings.Read more
Multi-family value add project in Tokyo leads to 35% increase in rent
Developer Tokyu Land Corporation has completed a value-add project for a multi-family asset in Tokyo’s Edogawa ward that has boosted the rent on new leases by an average of 35%.Read more
Does Fukuoka's luxury build-to-rent market have a limit?
Fukuoka’s city center is seeing an influx of high-end rental listings as landlords target increasingly affluent tenants. While the city’s growth is creating pockets of demand for luxury rentals, tenant uptake has been uneven, raising questions about the potential depth of the luxury build-to-rent market.Read more
Landlord develops foreign student-only rental apartment building
Foreign students in Japan can often have a hard time finding rental housing due to discrimination and a leasing system that favors local and established residents. With the foreign student population increasing, and the inventory of foreign student-friendly housing remaining low, one landlord has stepped in to build and operate exclusively foreigner-only rental apartments.Read more