Tokyo apartment asking prices in April 2018
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment across greater Tokyo was 36,040,000 Yen in April, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 1.2% from last year. The average building age was 23.4 years.Read more
Hakone to restrict short-term accommodation in holiday home areas
Kanagawa Prefecture has approved a special rule that will restrict minpaku-style short-term and overnight accommodation by hosts in the mountain-top hot-spring town of Hakone.
Under the new rule, short-term rentals are banned in 18 districts designated as Category I Tourist Districts located within Category I Exclusively Low-Rise Residential Zones in Hakone Town. Up to 80% of the homes in these districts are holiday homes.
Properties in these zones cannot be rented out for short-term stays between March 1 ~ June 1, August 1 ~ September 1, and October 1 ~ December 1. It is important to note that these are the popular tourist seasons for the town. Renting outside of these periods requires the host to register their accommodation.
How much should be allocated towards large-scale repairs and maintenance on a condo?
On May 11, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) released the results of a survey into the approximate costs of large-scale maintenance and repairs for apartment buildings. The goal of the survey is to provide apartment owners associations with a general idea of what the repair work should cost in an effort to reduce over-charging.
This is a useful guide for potential apartment buyers as you can check the amount of money in a building’s repair reserve fund before purchasing. Some buildings may have ample funds, providing some peace of mind, while others may have very little accumulated which would mean each apartment owner may have to pay out of pocket in the future or necessary maintenance won’t be carried out at all.Read more
Buying an apartment with a garden
Now that we are entering summer, some of you may be looking for apartments with outdoor spaces. If you are buying or renting an apartment in Japan with a garden included there are some key points that you should be aware of.
With apartments, your ownership rights are limited to the interior of the apartment while exterior spaces such as balconies, terraces and gardens are considered part of the building’s communal space. The owner or occupant of each apartment is granted the exclusive right to use the balcony or garden space attached to their apartment. However, the occupant must follow the building’s bylaws which provide rules on how these outdoor spaces can and cannot be used. Barbecues, for example, are almost always banned due to issues regarding open fires and problems from smoke and smells affecting other residents in a building.Read more
New apartment supply in Tokyo’s 23 wards drops 37% from last year
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,342 brand new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in April, down 35.3% from March and down 14.6% from last year. The reason for the drop in supply is due to a smaller number of large-scale projects on the market compared to this time last year. More of these major projects are expected in the near future, and supply may soon return to normal levels.
The average sale price was 55,480,000 Yen, down 6.3% from last year, while the average price per square meter was 800,000 Yen, down 6.5% from last year.Read more
Housing starts in Kyoto drop 13.1% in 2017 as hotel construction overtakes apartments
Housing starts in Kyoto Prefecture saw a year-on-year drop of 13.1% in 2017 to 14,790 units, the second lowest level seen in the past 10 years. This is also the second year in a row to see a decline in new construction.
This has been attributed to a steep rise in the construction of hotels in Kyoto’s city centre, with developers choosing to focus on building hotels rather than apartment buildings. Construction of apartments has halved as a result. The tourism boom and demand for hotels has put pressure on land prices, causing them to reach a level where the land is no longer profitable for an apartment development. Read more
Average rent in Tokyo increases for 5th month in a row
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,517 Yen/sqm in April, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 5.9% from last year. Rents have remained above the 3,500 Yen/sqm range since February. This is the fifth month in a row to see a year-on-year increase.Read more