High-rise planned for Omotesando former public housing site
The Aoyama Kitamachi Apaato, a city-operated public housing complex located on a prime 40,000 sqm site in the centre of Omotesando, is going to be replaced with a 20-storey high-rise apartment building.
The current site includes 25 public housing blocks containing a total of 586 apartments. They were built between 1957 and 1968 and are now in various stages of ageing and deterioration. The 4 and 5 storey buildings do not have elevators, and some of the earlier buildings did not have bathrooms (in those days the residents would have gone to local bathhouses).
Since 2006, Tokyo City has been slowly vacating the tenants in preparation of redevelopment. Almost half of the apartments are vacant, while remaining residents gradually move out.
Demolition is scheduled to start in 2017, and completion is expected in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics.Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - February 2016
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in Tokyo was 4.6% in February, showing no change from the previous month but down 0.6 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.2%, showing no change from the previous month but down 0.6 points from last year.
The average asking price of a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 906,757 Yen/sqm as of February 1, up 1.3% from the previous month and up 2.5% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,385,454 Yen/sqm, up 2.0% from the previous month and up 10.5% from last year.Read more
Tokyo region’s net inflow of residents reaches 6-year high
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the greater Tokyo area (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa) saw a net inflow of 119,357 residents in 2015. This is the 20th year in a row to see a net inflow, and is the highest level seen since 2009.
Only 8 of Japan’s 47 prefectures reported a net inflow, while areas such as Hokkaido (-8,862), Hyogo (-7,409), Niigata (-6,735), Aomori (-6,560), and Shizuoka (-6,206) saw more people moving out to other areas. Approximately 76% of Japan’s cities, towns and villages recorded net outflows in 2015, as more and more of the population move to larger cities.
Tokyo’s 23 wards saw a net inflow of 68,917 residents, up 7.7% from 2014.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in January 2016
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of January 2016:Read more
Ota-ku to introduce relaxed letting rules from today
From January 29, Ota City in Tokyo will enact a new lodging ordinance to allow private residences and homes to be used as accommodation for tourists. The relaxed rules have shortened the minimum stay to 6 nights and 7 days (down from 30 days), and have reduced the need for hotel-like facilities such as a check-in counter. Hosts, however, must still be approved by Ota City before they can rent out their properties.
Over the past three months, Ota City has received over 120 inquiries from companies interested in applying for permission to operate lodgings under the newly relaxed rules, and is expecting to have applications for approximately 200 rooms by the end of March. At an information session held by the City on January 27th, 200 people showed up - twice the number expected by the City. One of the attendants was the president of a real estate company who was planning to lease between 50 ~ 100 rooms.
There are already over 300 rooms in Ota that are listed on online booking sites, the majority of which are operating without the legally required license.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices increase for 18th consecutive month
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in December 2015 was 32,690,000 Yen, down 0.2% from the previous month but up 12.8% from the previous year. This ends a 15 month streak where prices were increasing on a month-by-month basis. The average building age was 22.1 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average price was 46,230,000 Yen, up 1.6% from the previous month and up 17.1% from the previous year. This is the 18th consecutive month to record a month-on-month increase.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average price was 51,430,000 Yen, up 1.6% from the previous month and up 17.4% from the previous year. This is also the 18th month in a row to see a month-on-month increase. The average building age was 21.6 years.Read more