Kyoto – Page 14 – JAPAN PROPERTY CENTRAL K.K.

Renovated machiya guesthouse in Kyoto makes 1 million Yen in first month

A renovated guesthouse located just 7 minutes from Kyoto Station has made a gross turnover of 1 million Yen (approx. 9,150 USD) in the first month of operations.

Yadoru Kyoto Washi-no-Yado is a 102-year old traditional Kyoto machiya-style townhouse that was given a full renovation and converted into a holiday rental. The occupancy rate for the month of July was over 97%. Over 80% of the guests have been foreign travelers, with visitors from China and Taiwan making up 60% of bookings.

by Zoe Ward

Sankei Building to enter Kyoto machiya hotel business

The machiya townhouse before renovations.

On July 27, The Sankei Building Co., a Tokyo-based real estate company, announced that they will be entering the Kyoto machiya hotel business. Their first property is a traditional machiya merchant residence located a kilometer from Nijo Castle that is scheduled to open in April 2018.

by Zoe Ward

New apartment price-to-income ratio drops for first time in 7 years

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average price of a brand new apartment across Japan was 7.59 times the average annual income in 2016, down 0.07 points from 2015 and the first drop reported in 7 years.

The price-to-income ratio across greater Tokyo was 10.68, down 0.31 points from 2015, and the first decline seen in five years. An increase in wages coupled with a stabilization of new apartment prices has been the cause behind the lower ratio. In fact, the number of prefectures across the country that saw an increase in the price-to-income ratio decreased from 36 in 2015 to 19 in 2016.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the luxury apartment market is booming, the ratio increased for the 3rd year in a row with a new apartment costing 11.46 times the average annual salary.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in Kyoto drop as developers are forced out of city center

The supply of brand new apartments in Kyoto City in the first half of 2017 increased by 21.7% from the same period in 2016, while the average sale price saw a steep drop of 24.1% to 43,280,000 Yen. The reason for the decrease in the price was due to intense competition for hotel development sites in the city center which has forced apartment developers to shift their focus to the city’s outskirts where prices are cheaper.

by Zoe Ward

Kyoto’s most expensive rental apartments to open in 2018

Kyoto’s most expensive rental apartment building is scheduled open in May 2018. The 5-storey La Tour Kyoto Higashiyama residence is being developed by Sumitomo Realty in the Higashiyama ward. It will be part of Sumitomo’s 'La Tour' brand of high-end rental apartments. The developer currently operates 20 La Tour buildings in central Tokyo, but this will be their first one outside of the capital.

by Zoe Ward

Kyoto’s tourism boom creates office shortage

With office vacancy rates in the 2% range, commercial tenants in Kyoto are reporting difficulty in finding new office space as the city’s supply of office buildings dwindles.

This year, parts of Higashiyama, Nakagyo and Shimogyo saw rosenka land values increase by over 20%. Rising land values are being supported by the city’s booming tourist industry which is causing real estate companies and hoteliers to aggressively seek sites to develop hotels and high-end apartments. With a scarce supply of vacant sites, office buildings are being torn down and replaced with hotels, shrinking office inventory.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Lingerie company to start Kyoto machiya accommodation business

On May 30, Japanese lingerie company Wacoal Holdings announced that they will be starting an accommodation business that will feature Kyoto’s traditional machiya residences.

From early 2018 onwards, the company plans to renovate old machiya into hotel-like guesthouses targeting tourists, with two or three machiya to open next year. Their goal is to manage 50 machiya over the next five years with a total annual revenue of over 1 billion Yen (approx. 9 million USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward