Norges Bank acquires 132.5 billion Yen in real estate in Omotesando/Harajuku in JV
Norges Bank Real Estate Management (NBREM), part of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, will acquire a 70% stake in a 132.5 billion Yen (approx. 1.17 billion USD) portfolio of real estate in Tokyo along with partner Tokyu Land. This is NBREM’s first investment in Asia.Read more
Instant sellout in The Tower Yokohama Kitanaka
All 730 apartments offered in the first round of sales for The Tower Yokohama Kitanaka have been sold. This was the highest number of apartments to have ever been released for sale in a building in Yokohama city in history. The 58-storey, 1,176-unit high-rise is also the largest building based on apartment-count to be built in the city since 1993.
Apartments were priced from 45 ~ 800 million Yen, with an average price of 1,200,000 Yen/sqm. The 212 sqm, 800 million Yen apartment has been the most expensive new apartment to have ever been sold in Yokohama.Read more
Kyoto’s proposed short-term letting rules to be strictest in country
On November 30 Kyoto City announced their proposed regulations for Airbnb-style short-term rentals. To provide support for complaints and emergency situations, hosts may be required to have a full-time manager stationed in an office within an 800 meter radius of the property. Hosts may also be required to submit a written oath to the city stating that they have not been operating an unlicensed BnB within the past 3 months.
These regulations will over-ride the new nationwide law set to go into effect from June 2018 that will allow overnight stays in non-hotels for up to 180 nights per year.Read more
41-storey apartment tower for Sengaku-ji area
A 170 meter, 41-storey high-rise tower has been proposed for the area next-door to Sengaku-ji Temple in Tokyo’s Minato ward. If approved, construction could start in 2020 with completion by 2024.
The 18,000 sqm site is located directly to the east of the historic Sengaku-ji temple and fronts onto the Daiichi Keihin street. The new station for the JR Yamanote Loop Line will be located towards the west, on the opposite side of the street.Read more
Tokyo Apartment Sales in November 2017
The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of November 2017:Read more
Takashimaya pays 442 million USD for two office buildings in Nihonbashi
Takeda Pharmaceutical has sold two of their buildings in downtown Tokyo to the Takashimaya Department Store for a reported price of 49.5 billion Yen (approx. 442 million USD). Delivery of the buildings is scheduled for March 2019. Both properties were owned by Takeda’s real estate division. Takeda will be putting the proceeds from the sale towards their research for new cancer treatments.
The Tokyo Takeda Building and adjoining Takeda Shin Edobashi Building are located a block behind Takashimaya’s Nihonbashi store. The block to the north and east of the historic department store is currently being redeveloped into two high-rise office towers ranging from 140 ~ 176 meters tall and with completion expected in early 2018 and early 2019.Read more
City Towers Toyosu to crack down on illegal home sharing
The owners association of City Towers Toyosu The Twin - a 48-storey, 1,063-unit condominium located on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay - entered into an agreement with a local provider to weed out any AirBnb-type rentals in the building.
This is the first of this type of agreement for a high-rise apartment building. The company providing the service is Tokyo-based Oscar Inc. The company operates the Minpaku Police website which allows neighbors to report suspected illegal short-term rentals. The majority of reports made to the website are regarding security and noise concerns.Read more