New apartment prices in January

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 1,826 new apartments were released for sale in greater Tokyo in January, down 77.9% from the previous month but up 6.1% from January 2013. 

The contract rate for the month was 78.6%, up 2.5 points from the previous month and up 9.4 points from last year.

The average apartment price was 46,370,000 Yen, down 1.8% from last year. The average price per square meter was 660,000 Yen, down 4.2% from last year.Read more

by Zoe Ward

January rental data - Tokyo Kantei

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo in January was 2,574 Yen/sqm, up 1.6% from January 2013 and up 2.4% from the previous month. The average apartment size was 58.86 sqm and the average building age was 19.0 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Second-hand apartment sales in January - REINS

According to REINS, 2,688 secondhand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in January, down 7.3% from the previous month but up 6.8% from January 2013. This is the 17th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sales.  

The average sale price was 26,730,000 Yen, up 4.4% from December and up 1.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 415,300 Yen, up 2.6% from December and up 4.5% from last year. The average apartment age was 19.38 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Two sides to Tokyo's improving property market

Greater Tokyo New Apartments 2004 2014

Tokyo's apartment market entered bullish territory in 2013, but 2014 could bring challenges for for some developers. 

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 56,476 new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in 2013, up 23.8% from 2012 and edging closer to the recent peak of 61,021 apartments released in 2007. The contract rate was 79.5%, up 3.2 points from the previous year (anything over 70% indicates positive market conditions). 56,000 new apartments are expected to hit the market in 2014.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Residential yields and vacancy rates in Minato-ku - February 2014

Tokyo apartment gross yield Homes

According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in February was 5.4%, down 0.4 points from January. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 7.4%, down 0.1 points the previous month.

Read more

by Zoe Ward

Nippon Life acquires site in Minato-ku for 80 billion Yen

Nippon Life Insurance Company has acquired a 7205 sqm development site in front of Hamamatsucho Station for approximately 80 billion Yen (790 million USD). The seller was bus company Kokusai Kogyo. The sale price works out to around 11.1 million Yen/sqm (109,000 USD). Read more

by Zoe Ward

Developer seeks to cancel contracts in luxury Aoyama apartment building after fault discovered

The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama TakagichoMitsubishi Jisho Residence is currently in the process of cancelling sale contracts on apartments in The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho after a construction fault was discovered.

Just before Christmas in 2013, an anonymous post on an online discussion board mentioned that there had been some core drilling into the concrete. Drilling holes in concrete to take core samples usually indicates a potentially serious problem.  Adding to suspicions, Mitsubishi removed the sales page for the project and removed any mention of the new building from their website a few days later. The building still had 3 apartments left for sale.

The message boards lit up with comments from concerned buyers who were desperate for an official response from Mitsubishi.

Read more

by Zoe Ward