Loans for rental housing increased by 20% this quarter

The total value of loans offered by banks for real estate purchases in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 (July ~ September) was 2.96 trillion Yen (approx. 26 billion USD), an increase of 23.5% from the previous quarter.

Demand for financing for the construction of commercial office and apartment buildings has been high due to the historically low interest rate environment.Read more


700 million USD condominium, hotel and retail project for Hokkaido’s Rusutsu Resort

Kamori Kanko, a Sapporo-based hotel operator, is planning an 80 billion Yen (approx. 717 million USD) overhaul of the Rusutsu Resort in Hokkaido.

The first stage of the project will include a 148-room luxury condominium-hotel with construction set to start next spring. The condominium will be called The Vale Rusutsu and will be 11 storeys with completion by December 2019. Rooms will range in size from 50 ~ 260 sqm (538 ~ 2,798 sq ft) and with prices expected to range from 40 ~ 300 million Yen (360,000 ~ 2,700,000 USD). Sales are scheduled to start this month. Owners will have the option of leasing their room to the hotel while they are not using it.Read more


Yokohama may ban short-term letting on weekdays

Yokohama City is following in Shinjuku’s footsteps by proposing to introduce a ban on short-term Airbnb-style letting on weekdays. The plan would prohibit minpaku rentals from Mondays through Thursdays in areas zoned as Exclusively Low-Rise Residential. The plan will be open to public comment until December 19, with the draft to be submitted to the city council in February 2018.

Approximately 31% of Yokohama City’s area is designated as an Exclusively Low-Rise Residential Zone. The reasoning for the week-day ban is to ensure a peaceful environment for those who work during the week and do not want their neighborhood interrupted by travelers while trying to rest on weeknights.Read more


Japan’s first Indigo hotel to open in Hakone

On November 22, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced plans to open a 100 room hotel alongside the Haya River in Hakone.

The Hotel Indigo Hakone-Gora will be IHG’s first Indigo-branded hotel in Japan. Opening is scheduled for 2019.

The hotel site is a 10 minute walk from Gora Station and a 2 minute walk from the Hakone Tozan bus stop. All 100 rooms will have access to hot spring water, with  80 rooms having their own out-door hot spring baths on their balconies. Room rates are expected to range from 25,000 ~ 30,000 Yen per night.

Hakone, a popular onsen destination about 30km south-east of Mt. Fuji, receives as many as 20 million tourists each year.

Hotel activity in Hakone:

  • The Kanaya Resort Hakone, operated by Nikko’s Kanaya Hotel Kanko Group, opened on November 3, 2017. The 14-room hotel sits on a 22,000 sqm site in Sengokuhara and has made use of an existing corporate guest retreat building. 12 of the 14 rooms have outdoor hot spring baths. Room rates range from 29,000 ~ 110,000 Yen per night.
  • Fujita Kanko’s Hakone Kowaki-en Tenyu hotel opened in April 2017 in the Kowakudani district. All 150 rooms have their own outdoor rotenburo hot spring baths. Room rates start from 28,000 Yen per night.
  • Mori Trust acquired the historic Gora Kansuirou Hotel in Gora in March 2017 for an undisclosed price. The 96-year old hotel sits on a 15,000 sqm block of land and has a total floor area of 2,266 sqm. Room rates range from 32,000 ~ 38,000 Yen per night.
  • The landmark Fujiya Hotel (c1891) will close from April 2018 for earthquake retrofitting, with re-opening scheduled for Spring 2020.
  • Hakone Hotel Kowaki-en in Kowakudani will close permanently in January 2018. The site may be redeveloped into a larger hotel sometime in the future.

 

Location

Kiga, Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture

Sources:
Travel Voice, November 22, 2017.
The Tokyo Shimbun, November 9, 2017.


Apartment asking prices in Tokyo in October 2017

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) apartment across Greater Tokyo was 35,810,000 Yen in October 2017, up 0.7% from the previous month but down 1.1% from last year. The average building age was 23.0 years.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 52,920,000 Yen, showing no change from the previous month but up 0.9% from last year. The average building age was 22.6 years.Read more


Tokyu expanding development of luxury condominiums in Tokyo

To cater to growing demand, Tokyu Land is expanding the development of 100 million Yen+ condominiums in central Tokyo’s six wards. They currently have four high-end projects under development in Tokyo and have increased their sales staff by 20%. Their target buyers are wealthy seniors and dual-income households.

Two of their luxury projects include Branz Roppongi The Residence (Minato-ku) and Branz Nagatacho (Chiyoda-ku). Branz Roppongi The Residence is a 51-unit, 8-storey building located 200 meters from Tokyo Midtown. Completion is scheduled for February 2019. The average apartment price is 550 million Yen (approx. 4.9 million USD), and 40% of the apartments have already sold off-the-plan.Read more


Apartments in The Tower Yokohama Kitanaka to go on sale this weekend

Over 60% of the apartments in Yokohama’s tallest condominium will go on sale this weekend, in what will be the highest number of apartments to have ever been released for sale in a building in the city. The Tower Yokohama Kitanaka is a 58-storey, 200m tall apartment building located in front of Bashamichi Station and close to Yokohama’s waterfront district.

A total of 730 apartments will be available for purchase in the first round of sales starting from November 25.  With a total of 1,176 apartments in the building, this building is the largest based on apartment count to have been developed in the city since 1993.Read more