Crowdfunding for Mitaka's most famous apartment building
The Reversible Destiny Lofts MITAKA (In Memory of Helen Keller) has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for repairs to the iconic apartment building.
Real estate assets under management hit highest level in history
Institutional investors both domestic and foreign are piling into Japan’s real estate market. As of the end of June 2021, REITs and private placement funds held a total of over 44 trillion Yen (approx. US$400 billion) in real estate - the highest level in history.
Why Japan and why Japanese real estate?
Land values drop nationwide for second year, but increase in Tokyo
Japan’s Standard Land Prices were announced yesterday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The national average dropped by 0.4% from last year. This is the second year in a row to see a decline, but it is a slight improvement from last year’s 0.6% drop. The nationwide average has been in the negative for 27 of the past 30 years.
Foreign buyers battle for Seibu’s hotels
In the few months since news broke of Seibu Holdings’ plan to offload some of its hotels, Blackstone Group and an investment fund affiliated with Morgan Stanley have emerged as possible buyers. Negotiations are expected to conclude by the end of the year.
Office vacancy rate increases for 18th month
The average office vacancy rate across Tokyo’s five business districts of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, and Shibuya reached 6.31% in August, according to office brokerage Miki Shoji. This is a 0.03 point increase from the previous month and the 18th month in a row to see vacancy rates climb.
Apartment transactions drop in August as inventory remains low
Reported transactions of second-hand apartments across greater Tokyo dropped again in August, according to REINS. That may be a side effect of the low inventory levels and limited apartments being listed for sale each month.
The data is in, and apartment buyers did not flee Tokyo for remote locations in 2020
Various news articles the world over reported on city dwellers fleeing the confines of their urban life in the midst of the pandemic to more regional escapes as large companies became more flexible on remote work arrangements. Tokyo was no stranger to those clickbait articles. And while the stories might be true for some major international cities, buyer behavior in Tokyo shows a less sensational and more grounded reality.