Annual property taxes won’t increase next year

The government plans to keep annual property taxes (kotei-shisanzei) for the 2021 year at the same level as those in 2020. This means property owners of commercial and residential land that had seen tax valuations increase just prior to the coronavirus, won’t be stuck with a higher tax bill in 2021.

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Quick real estate news summary for the week

Homebuyer preferences change as pandemic continues, Nikko-branded hotel for Niseko, and Singapore funds see value in Japan’s logistics market. Below is a quick weekly summary of some of the recent goings-on in the Japanese real estate market.

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Japanese residents stay, while foreigners exit central Tokyo

The population of the Tokyo metropolitan area as of November 1 had dropped by 7,358 from the previous month to 13,847,040 residents. This is the first time since 1993 that the month of November had seen a month-on-month decrease. Recent news articles have been pointing the finger at the work-from-home trend and an exodus to surrounding prefectures as the main cause of the decline, and while that may be the cause for some of the numbers, the same articles gloss over the startling outflow of foreign residents.

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Abandoned temple grounds to be nationalized in country-first

The grounds of an overgrown and abandoned temple in Shimane Prefecture will be acquired by the national government in what will be the first of its kind.

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A forecast of new apartment prices between 2020 and 2025

on November 26, the Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI) issued their most recent medium-term forecast for new apartment prices in Tokyo’s 23 wards. In 2020, the average price is forecast to be 1,071,000 Yen per square meter (approx. US$956/sq.ft). This is a slightly higher revision from their earlier forecast issued last year.

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A second LOOK at land prices since the pandemic

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) published their quarterly LOOK Report on November 19. With a survey point of July 1, this is the second report covering changes in land prices since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

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