Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 61st month

According to REINS, 3,103 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in October, down 3.7% from the previous month and down 7.1% from last year. The average sale price was 32,090,000 Yen, down 0.5% from the previous month but up 2.3% from last year. The average sale price per square meter was 501,600 Yen, down 1.0% from the previous month but up 3.3% from last year. This is the 58th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 20.80 years.

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A third of apartments in central Tokyo sell at full asking price

A common question we get from buyers is how much of a discount can they get on the asking price of a property. The honest answer is that it varies. Some properties will sell at their full asking price, while others may sell at a discount. Typically two-thirds of all reported apartment sales in central Tokyo (Minato, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Shinagawa) sell at a discount of less than 3%, while a third sell at their full asking price.

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16-fold rent increase for shopkeepers at Asakusa’s Sensoji temple

Shopkeepers alongside the Nakamise shopping street, a 250 meters long souvenir shop-lined pedestrian mall leading to Sensoji temple in Tokyo, are reeling after being hit with a potential 16-fold increase in store rents. In September, Sensoji temple informed the tenants of plans to increase the rent from the current level of 15,000 Yen per month for a 10 square meter shop to a new rent of 250,000 Yen per month, making it in line with market rents for the neighborhood and ending years of subsidized rents that had been offered by the previous landlord - the Tokyo metropolitan government.

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Landlords: Ending a lease is not easy

Before buying an investment property in Japan it is important to understand how tenancy laws work. What may be acceptable in one country is not necessarily allowed in Japan where tenant rights are strong.

A big difference to be aware of is how to end a rental lease as a landlord.

Why would you want to kick out a tenant who is paying rent on time? You may want to list the property for sale, in which case, depending on the type of property, it may be more advantageous for the property to be vacant to appeal to a wider range of buyers. Or, you may want to vacate a building so that you can redevelop the site, or use the property yourself. Read more


Real estate company reported to prosecutors for illegal BnB in Kyoto

Kyoto’s Economic Crime Investigation Division and the Ukyo Police Department have sent papers to prosecutors on a Nagoya-based real estate company under suspicion of illegally renting out a house in Kyoto City to tourists. A total of five people from the company, including the company president, are accused of acting as an intermediary for the property owner, by advertising the house as short-term accommodation on booking sites. This is a rare case where an intermediary or management company has been caught up in potential charges.

The 3-storey house was reportedly rented to foreign tourists on an overnight basis for around 50,000 Yen per night, without having any of the required hotel licenses or permissions. The house is in an exclusive residential zone, which currently prohibits any sort of hotel operations.Read more


The Parkhouse Shinjuku Gyoen has reached completion

Construction of The Parkhouse Shinjuku Gyoen, a 14-storey condominium located directly across the street from the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, reached completion last month.

The building contains 52 luxury residences ranging in size from 55 ~ 100 sqm (592 ~ 1,076 sq ft). When sales began back in early 2016, apartments were priced from 64 ~ 269 million Yen, with an average price of around 1,725,000 Yen/sqm.

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