Historic 84-year old apartment building in Chuo-ku under demolition

Images via http://blog.goo.ne.jp/asabata

The historic Shokin Apaato in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, is being demolished to make way for a 13-storey mixed-use office and residential building.

Shokin Apaato was built in 1931, around the same time as the Dojunkai apartments. The 5-storey, reinforced concrete building was occupied by tenants up until 2013. The owner decided to rebuild as the building does not meet earthquake-resistant standards and has become too costly to maintain.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment supply in April at 23-year low

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,286 brand new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in April, down 48.6% from the previous month and down 7.6% from last year. This is the lowest level recorded for the month of April since 1992, when just 1,365 apartments were released for sale. It is also the fourth month in a row to see a decline.

One of the contributing factors to the drop in supply was a delay in sales offerings by some developers. The sale of as many as 500 ~ 600 units were postponed until May to appeal to buyers during the Golden Week holidays.

1,727 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 75.5%, down 4.1 points from the previous month but up 0.8 points from last year.

The average new apartment price was 53,050,000 Yen, up 2.3% from the previous month and up 9.5% from last year. The average price per square meter was 758,000 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 7.8% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates see slight increase in April

According to Miki Shoji’s Office Report, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 5.34% in April, up 0.04 points from the previous month but down 1.30 points from last year. This is the first time in 21 months that the rate has increased from the previous month. Two large-scale office buildings were completed last month, which was considered to be a contributing cause to the increase in the vacancy rate.

The vacancy rate in brand new buildings was 33.21%, up 2.85 points from the previous month and up 13.76 points from last year.

The Tokyo Nihonbashi Tower was completed in Chuo-ku in April. The 35-storey, 180m tall tower has a total floor area of 133,334 sqm (1.4 million sq ft).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment transactions up for first time in 13 months

According to REINS, 2,808 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in April, down 24.7% from the previous month but up 0.8% from last year. This is the first time in 13 months to see an increase in transactions from the year before. February and March are typically the busiest months of the year for sales, so it is not surprising to see transactions down from March.

The average apartment sale price was 28,280,000 Yen, down 3.2% from the previous month but up 5.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 445,500 Yen, down 1.7% from the previous month but up 5.1% from last year. The average building age was 20.11 years.

1,377 apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, down 25.3% from March but up 1.0% from April 2014. This is also the first time in 13 months to see a year-on-year increase in transactions. The average sale price was 34,900,000 Yen, down 1.9% from the previous month but up 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was  597,400 Yen, down 1.9% from the previous month but up 3.6% from last year. The average building age was 18.95 years.

In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 158 apartments were sold, down 31.3% from the previous month but up 1.3% from last year. The average sale price was 53,600,000 Yen, down 1.3% from the previous month but up 11.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 996,800 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 11.1% from last year. The average building age was 16.24 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Earthquake insurance premiums could rise by 30%

Earthquake insurance premiums on residential real estate in Japan could rise by as much as 30% to reflect updated earthquake risk predictions.

Up until now, the highest premium hike was in July 2014 when premiums were raised by 15.5% in response to the 2011 Tohoku disaster. To lessen the immediate burden on consumers, the Financial Services Agency, which is in charge of approving insurance premiums, is considering applying the increase in stages over several years. The higher premiums could go into effect as early as next year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Residential yields in Minato-ku - May 2015

Minato apartment yields May 2015

According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in May was 4.7%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and down 0.6 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.6%, showing no change from the previous month but down 0.5 points from last year.

The average asking price of a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 869,700 Yen/sqm as of May 1, down 1.1% from the previous month but up 9.8% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,211,818 Yen/sqm, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 5.7% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment sales in April 2015

Tokyo apartment sales april

The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of April 2015:Read more

by Zoe Ward