Office vacancy rates in October

According to Miki Shoji's Office Report, the vacancy rate in Tokyo's 5 central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) was 7.56% in October, down 0.34 points from the previous month and down 1.18 points from last year.

This is the lowest level seen in over 4 years. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Minato and Shibuya apartment sales (first half 2013)

According the MLIT, the average transaction price of an apartment (including both new and old) in the first half of 2013 was 55,143,800 Yen (919,600 Yen/sqm) in Minato-ku and 35,182,100 Yen (814,200 Yen/sqm) in Shibuya-ku.Read more

by Zoe Ward

[Foreclosed] Apartment in Park Mansion Roppongi

Park Mansion Roppongi 2

*Update: The property was withdrawn from the auction. This can occur when the creditor/s are either paid the outstanding debt or reach an agreement with the borrower. It was later listed for sale for 248,000,000 Yen.

A 3-bedroom apartment in the luxury Park Mansion Roppongi building is up for public auction this month.

Bidding on the 114 sqm (1227 sqft) apartment starts from 81,600,000 Yen (715,800 Yen/sqm). Apartments in this building are normally priced around 1.9 ~ 2.5 million Yen per square meter, with those overlooking Hinokicho Park going for as much as 3 million Yen/sqm. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Mizuho's Real Estate Market Report

Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. released their Real Estate Market Report for October 2013. According to the data, second-hand apartment sales are making up a growing proportion of total apartment sales in both greater Tokyo and the Kinki region.

In Tokyo's 23 wards, around 10,000 second-hand apartments have been sold annually since 2010. The highest proportion of sales and the highest transaction volume is in Tokyo's central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Bunkyo).Read more

by Zoe Ward

September rental data - Tokyo Kantei

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in greater Tokyo was 2,545 Yen/sqm in September, down 0.2% from the previous month but up 2.7% from last year. The average apartment size was 59.31 sqm (638 sqft) and the average apartment age was 18.8 years.

In Tokyo's 23-ku, the average monthly rent was 3,095 Yen/sqm, down 1 Yen from August but up 3.0% from last year. The average apartment size was 56.20 sqm and the average age was 17.6 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Former Tokyo Govenor's Residence in Shoto for sale

Tokyo Governors Residence 2Tokyo City are looking to sell the currently unoccupied former governor's residence in Shibuya and will be accepting offers over 3.3 billion Yen (33.8 million USD) from October 29.

This is the second time that the city has tried to sell the 2,200 sqm site. It was first listed in 2008 with a  minimum price of 4.8 billion Yen but no offers were made. Prior to the global financial crisis and Lehman Shock, real estate experts had suggested the property had a market value of around 6 billion Yen.

The city is hopeful that the property will be purchased by a foreign government to use as an embassy. They have already received interest from several countries. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Secondhand apartment prices in September - Tokyo Kantei

According to the latest report from Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sqft) secondhand apartment in Tokyo's 23-ku was 40,420,000 Yen in September, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 2.5% from September 2012. This is the sixth month in a row where prices have seen a month-on-month increase. The average price across Tokyo City was 36,930,000 Yen, up 0.3% from last month and up 1.0% from last year.

Read more

by Zoe Ward