Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 68th month

According to REINS, 2,785 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 14.0% from the previous month and down 6.6% from last year. The average sale price was 33,050,000 Yen, down 1.8% from the previous month but up 4.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 510,700 Yen, down 1.9% from the previous month but up 3.2% from last year. This is the 65th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices.Read more


Developers lose appeal on unfinished apartment building in Bunkyo-ku

The two developers of a 107-unit condominium in Tokyo’s Bunkyo ward that lost its building permit two months prior to completion have lost their appeal against the city in a court ruling on May 24.

Construction of the 8-storey ‘Le Cinq Koishikawa Korakuen’ building began in 2013. In early November 2015, just two months prior to completion, the city revoked the building’s construction certificate due to a major design flaw, effectively halting construction. Under the Building Standards Act, multi-dwelling buildings must have emergency escape stairs providing a direct exit outdoors. This building’s emergency stairs exited into the garage, which is 2.5 meters above ground level and 19 meters from the outside. Read more


Ginza office floor sale sees price more than double within a year

Shioi Kosan, the private asset management company for fast-food bento maker Hotto Motto, has paid 25 billion Yen (approx. 230 million USD) to acquire the 8th floor of the Ginza Six retail and commercial building in Tokyo’s Ginza district. The sale price is more than double the price that the floor sold for 7 months prior.Read more


Tokyo Apartment Sales in May 2018

The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of May 2018:Read more


Toshiba sells historic residence in Shinagawa

Furniture company Nitori Holdings has acquired a historic residence in Tokyo from Toshiba. The home, which was used by Toshiba as a reception hall for guests, sits on a sprawling 6,400 sqm of grounds in the Nishi-oi address in Shinagawa.

The traditional Japanese house was built in 1941 for Keitaro Miho, the president of Japanese record label Nippon Columbia. It was transferred to Toshiba in 1953. The site was originally part of a larger castle-like estate, with some parts of the original foundation walls said to be remaining within Toshiba’s grounds.Read more


Forecast of new apartment prices in Tokyo from 2018 onwards

The Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI) has issued an updated medium-term forecast for the price of brand new apartments in Tokyo’s 23 wards over the next seven years. Price predictions have been revised updwards from last year’s forecast. In 2018, average new apartment prices are expected to be 994,000 Yen/sqm, up 0.5% from 2017 and 4.4% higher than their previous forecast.Read more


Second share house company files for bankruptcy

In the wake of a widening investment loan fraud scandal, a second share house company in Tokyo has filed for bankruptcy.

The company operated by developing and selling share houses to individual investors and then managing the properties on behalf of the buyers, offering high yields and guaranteed rents. However, as was the case with the other defunct share house operator that filed for bankruptcy last month, the vacancy rates of the share houses was higher than forecast and the company was not able to make the guaranteed rent payments to investors.Read more