50 landlords in Kyoto investigated for failing to declare taxes
The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau has identified approximately 50 landlords of rental properties in Kyoto that failed to report over 300 million Yen (2.55 million USD) in rental income over a three year period.
From 2014, approximately 50 landlords of rental apartment buildings and the smaller ‘apaato’-type flats located near the Doshisha University campus were the subject of an investigation by the Kamigyo Tax Office. The investigation found that the majority of the landlords had failed to correctly file and declare taxes.Read more
Kyoto apartment sale breaks price record
A 749 million Yen (6.1 million USD) penthouse apartment in a luxury condominium currently under construction in Kyoto has sold out on the first day of sales.
26 of the building’s 85 apartments were offered for sale last weekend. They were priced from 41.8 ~ 749 million Yen (340,000 ~ 6,100,000 USD). A total of 44 purchase applications were received, with the most popular apartment (a 3-Bedroom unit priced at 329 million Yen, or around 2.7 million USD), receiving 5 applications. The second most popular apartment was another 3-Bedroom unit priced at 379 million Yen (3.1 million USD) which received 4 applications. As is the case with new construction sales, the lucky buyers were drawn via a raffle.Read more
Singapore property group opens hotel in Kyoto
Singapore’s Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited opened their first hotel in Japan on November 16. The ‘Noku Roxy’ is located near the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds and just above Marutamachi Station.
Roxy acquired the existing 21-year old hotel, formerly called the ‘Tokyu Hotel Harvest Kyoto’, in October 2014 and have refurbished the interior and exterior. The property had previously been acquired by Ken Corporation in January 2014. Read more
Two arrested under suspicion of illegally leasing apartments to foreign tourists
On November 5, the Kyoto Prefectural Police began interviewing two people who are suspected of allegedly leasing out apartments to foreign tourists for short stays without obtaining the appropriate hotel license.
The two suspects are are 52-year old advisor from a travel company in Tokyo and a 48-year old from a hotel proxy company in Yamagata City.
Both companies have been accused of renting out apartments in Kyoto’s Ukyo-ku to tourists on a short-term basis without a license which is in violation of the Hotel Business Law. As many as 300 guests used the accommodation between July and early October.Read more
West Japan’s most expensive apartment to go on sale in Kyoto
On October 8, Mitsubishi Jisho Residence announced a new condominium project for central Kyoto. The most expensive apartment in the building will be priced at over 700 million Yen (5.85 million USD). According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, this is the most expensive apartment to be released for sale in West Japan in the past 20 years. With a price of around 2,440,000 Yen/sqm (1,895 USD/sq.ft), it is similar to the current price of luxury high-rise apartments in central Tokyo.
The Parkhouse Kyoto Kamogawa Gosho-Higashi is located alongside Kyoto’s Kamo River and is 250 meters east of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. This will be the first condominium to be built alongside this river since 2004.Read more
Kyoto machiya popular with foreign buyers
According to the Urban Research Institute Corporation, foreign corporations acquired 1.2 billion Yen of real estate in Japan in 2014, 2.8 times higher than the figure in 2013. This accounted for a little over 20% of the value of all transactions nationwide.
While most of the foreign investment is centred in Tokyo, Kyoto is also attracting some foreign buyers.Read more
Renewal of modernist theatre in Kyoto reaches completion
Construction and refurbishment of the 55-year old Kyoto Kaikan building finished earlier this month. The original hall was designed by leading modernist architect Kunio Maekawa (1905-1986) and built in 1960. However, theatre stages were too small and the building was not equipped for operas or ballet performances. The building’s condition was also starting to deteriorate.
Kyoto City spent 11 billion Yen refurbishing the South Hall which included preserving the Maekawa-designed exterior, while the Main Hall was completely rebuilt into a 6-storey hall with 2,005 seats.Read more