Nippon Accommodations Fund acquires Atagoyama Tower

Atagoyama Tower 1

Nippon Accommodations Fund announced on February 19 that they will be acquiring a 31-storey apartment building in Nishi-Shinbashi for 8.65 billion Yen (85 million USD). Although the seller was not disclosed, the building had previously been acquired by SEB Asset Management's Asian Property Fund in 2008.Read more

by Zoe Ward

The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho to be demolished and rebuilt

The Parkhouse Grand Minami Aoyama

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence announced that they will be demolishing and rebuilding The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho* apartment building after serious construction faults were discovered prior to completion. The construction company, Kajima Corporation, is expected to bear most of the reconstruction costs.

Apartments in the 7-storey condominium in Minato-ku were initially priced from 85 ~ 350 million Yen with an average price of 1,400,000 Yen per square meter. 83 of the 86 apartments were already under contract by December when online message boards began to report rumours of some structural issues with the building. Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartment prices in Tokyo up 26%

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,651 new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in February, down 24.1% from last year but up 45.2% from the previous month. Record snowfall across Tokyo in February caused some developers to postpone sales until March, which caused the drop in numbers.

Demand still remains strong with a contract rate of 80.6%, up 4.2 points from last year and up 2.0 points from January. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo bayside apartment bubble to burst after Olympics?

Tokyo Bay IslandsThere are currently 149 large-scale apartment buildings (those with a total floor space of over 10,000 sqm) planned in Tokyo's 23 wards. Of those, several projects located in the bayside area are of a major scale with a floor space of over 100,000 sqm.

What impact could this future supply have on the apartment market on these manmade islands in Tokyo Bay?Read more

by Zoe Ward

Chika-koji land prices in major cities up for first time in 6 years - MLIT

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced the 2014 'chika-koji' assessed land values on March 18. According to the latest data, both commercial and residential land prices rose in Japan's three major cities for the first time in six years.

In Greater Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, residential land prices were up 0.5% and commercial land prices were up 1.6% over the 12 months to January 1, 2014.

In central Tokyo, residential land prices were up 5.9% in Minato-ku, 8.7% in Chuo-ku and 6.0% in Chiyoda-ku after negligible changes in 2013. In fact, residential and commercial land prices increased in each of Tokyo's 23 special wards.

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by Zoe Ward

Final chapter for Tokyo's Chongryon HQ

Chongryon HQ TokyoRather than hold a third auction, the Tokyo District Court announced plans to sell the foreclosed Chongryon headquarters in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo to a real estate company from Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture. If there are no problems with Marunaka Holdings' paperwork, the final decision regarding the sale will be made on March 24.Read more

by Zoe Ward

12 investors suing their 'dates' after elaborate apartment sales scam uncovered on dating site

Twelve men and women are suing Tokyo-based real estate agencies, apartment sales offices and lending institutions for 200 million Yen in the Tokyo District Court after purchasing over-priced investment apartments at the suggestion of their dates met through online dating sites.

Their 'dates' turned out to be real estate agents who concealed their occupation and allegedly sweet-talked the plaintiffs into purchasing apartments. After settlement, however, their dates ceased all communications.Read more

by Zoe Ward