Harumi Flag goes on sale today
Sales in the Harumi Flag Athlete’s Village start today, with applications closing on August 4. The first round of sales will see over 600 apartments on offer.
New apartment supply in Tokyo drops to lowest level since 1992
The supply of new condo-type apartments across greater Tokyo in the first half of 2019 has reached the lowest level seen since 1992. As land prices and construction costs continue to remain at high levels, developers have been putting the brakes on residential supply as buyers shift their attention away from expensive new construction. Last-minute demand prior to the increase in consumption tax from October did not materialize as anticipated.
New apartment prices, meanwhile, have reached the highest level since 1991.
120m tall office tower for Shibuya Station area
A 120-meter tall office tower is planned for a site just behind the Shibuya Hikarie building in central Tokyo.
91-yr old bathhouse converted to shared office
A Yamagata-based construction company has refurbished a traditional 91-year old bathhouse near Ueno, Tokyo, into a shared office, cafe, and event space.
Tokyo second-hand apartment sales up 8.5% in June
According to REINS, a total of 3,490 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in June, up 27% from the previous month and up 5.2% from last year. The average sale price was 33,610,000 Yen, up 1.1% from the previous month and up 1.3% from last year. The average price per square meter was 527,500 Yen, up 1.8% from the previous month and up 1.6% from last year. This is the 5th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase. The average age of an apartment sold was 21.96 years.
Rent rises 11% on Tokyo Stock Exchange Building
The rent for the Tokyo Stock Exchange Building in Nihonbashi is increasing for the first time in 25 years. Starting in April, the building’s annual rent has increased by 11.1% to 3 billion Yen (approx. 28 million USD).
Japan’s minpaku market falling below expectations
A year has passed since the introduction of new regulations covering short-term letting or Airbnb-style rentals in Japan. Take-up has been slow with just 6,438 registered properties across the greater Tokyo area, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama prefectures. Before the new law was introduced in June 2018, there were 16,000 properties listed on Airbnb's website in Tokyo’s 23 wards alone.