Tokyo’s 40-year island dispute edging closer to resolution
In the middle of Tokyo Bay sits a 500 hectare manmade island that has been at the center of an ownership dispute between Tokyo’s Ota and Koto wards since its creation in the 1970s.
On July 18, the Tokyo metropolitan government started mediation between the two wards. On September 29th, Tokyo presented a proposal that would allocate 86% of the island to Koto and 14% to Ota. Opposition from Ota over the split, however, could see the dispute go to court.
Tokyo’s Mita 5 Chome district to see potential residential redevelopment
Residents of a 1.1 hectare block of densely-packed homes in the Mita 5 Chome neighbourhood in central Tokyo have formed a redevelopment committee with the goal of turning the site into a high-rise apartment building.
Approximately 70% of the 110 landowners are participating in the redevelopment, with Sumitomo chosen as the project partner. A town planning decision is expected in 2018.
Forecast of new apartment prices between 2017 and 2025
According to the latest medium-term forecast by the Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI), the average price of a brand new apartment in Tokyo’s 23 wards is forecast to see annual growth rates of between 0.3 ~ 0.8% up until 2020 before starting to see a very slight year-on-year decline from 2021 onwards.
Historic Kudan Kaikan redevelopment plans announced
On September 21st, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau announced that Tokyu Land had won the competitive bidding process for the redevelopment of the Kudan Kaikan building in central Tokyo. The bidding price will be announced after Tokyu signs the contractural agreement in March 2018.
The developer will lease the 8,700 sqm block of land under a 70-year fixed term and will build a high-rise office tower on the site. The north-eastern corner of the original Kudan Kaikan building will be preserved and retrofitted using a base-isolation system (menshin-kozo).
Average asking price of an apartment in Tokyo up 1.1% from last year
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) second-hand apartment across greater Tokyo was 35,660,000 Yen in August 2017, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 1.3% from last year. Prices continue to remain stable in the 35 million Yen range since November 2016. The average building age was 23.0 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 53,380,000 Yen, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 1.1% from last year. The average building age was 22.4 years.