Land prices continue to rise - MLIT LOOK Report

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) Chika LOOK Report for the fourth quarter of 2014 (October 1 ~  January 1), land prices increased in 83% of the surveyed locations across Japan. For the second quarter in a row, none of the locations saw a decline in land prices.

The Chika LOOK Report is a quarterly survey of land price movements of 150 commercial and residential locations across Japan. In the last quarter, 125 locations saw an increase, up from 124 locations in October 1, 2014. Two of those locations saw land prices rise 3 ~ 6% (the Toranomon area in Tokyo and the Ohori area in Fukuoka), while 25 locations saw no change in land prices.

In the greater Tokyo area, 90.8% of locations saw an increase in land prices, while 79.5% of locations in the greater Osaka area saw an increase.

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by Zoe Ward

Construction of Akasaka's latest high-rise to begin today

Taisei Corporation will begin construction of a 44-storey residential apartment tower in Akasaka 9 Chome from today.

The Akasaka 9 Chome North District Redevelopment is located on the northern side of Tokyo Midtown. The 4,656 sqm site was originally a densely packed neighbourhood of two and three-storey wooden homes, a kindergarten and small park.

The new apartment building will be 170m tall with 322 apartments and 44 floors. It will be taller than Akasaka Tower Residence (159m), Park Court Akasaka The Tower (157m) and Roppongi Hills Residence B Tower (156m).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Malaysian pension fund makes first investment in Japan

In their first investment in Japan, Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has acquired several logistics facilities in the greater Tokyo area. This is the first case of an Asian public pension fund investing in Japanese real estate.

EPF acquired five distribution centers in Saitama and Chiba from Mitsubishi Corporation for 14 billion Yen (117 million USD). Management has been entrusted to Diamond Realty Management, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi. The buildings are around 20 years old and attract lower rent than newer facilities, but are located in prime positions with strong tenant demand. Yields are expected to be around 10%, which is higher than the 4 ~ 5% offered by private REITS.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Strong pre-sales in Shinjuku’s 60-storey apartment building

The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku Tower 60 1

On February 23, Mitsubishi Jisho Residence announced that all 325 apartments initially offered for sale in The Parkhouse Nishishinjuku Tower 60 have received purchase applications. The building, which won't be completed for another 2.5 years, is now 40% sold.

Apartments were offered for sale from February 14th ~ 22nd. A total of 713 applications were made on the 325 apartments, with lucky buyers selected from a raffle. The most popular apartment received 14 applications. Approximately 2,000 groups visited the sales office and 8,000 requests were made for sales brochures.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment prices in January 2015 - Tokyo Kantei

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo was 28,990,000 Yen in January, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 1.6% from January 2014. The average building age was 21.7 years.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 44,020,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 7.2% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years. This is the highest level seen since July 2008.

In central Tokyo’s six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average asking price was 62,010,000 Yen, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 11.4% from last year. The average building age was 21.3 years.

The drop in the supply of new apartments has contributed to a rise in the number of buyers seeking second-hand apartments as an alternative to brand new ones. While asking prices have been rising, Tokyo Kantei pointed out that there are some properties that are difficult to sell and have seen their price discounted as a result. For properties in prime locations, some owners have been delaying listing their property for sale in anticipation of prices rising even further.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment living continues to increase in Japan’s urban centres

According to data released by Tokyo Kantei, 12.08% of of households in Japan were living in condominium apartments in 2014, up 0.14 points from 2013. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area has the highest percentage, with 26.38% of households living in apartments, up 0.48 points from 2013. Tokyo’s 23 wards reached 30% for the first time and is in top place for the third year in a row.

The top ranked cities:

[1] Tokyo 23-ku: 30.38% (+1.02 points from 2013)

[2] Fukuoka City: 29.24% (+0.25 points)

[3] Kobe City: 28.02% (+0.62 points)

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by Zoe Ward

New apartment supply in central Tokyo down 26%

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 1,679 brand new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in January, down 82.1% from the previous month and down 8.1% from January 2014. This is about 16% lower than the Institute’s estimate for the month.

1,258 apartments were sold, making the contract rate 74.9%, up 5.0 points from the previous month but down 3.7 points from last year.

The average new apartment price was 44,550,000 Yen, down 11.3% from the previous month and down 3.9% from last year. The average price per square meter was 639,000 Yen, down 10.0% from the previous month and down 3.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward