Mori Trust acquires historic Hakone hotel
On May 18, Mori Trust announced that they had acquired the historic Gora Kansuirou Hotel in Hakone. The transaction took place in March 2017. The sale price was not disclosed.
The Gora Kansuirou Hotel was built in 1921 as the holiday home for the third son of Yataro Iwasaki, founder of Mitsubishi. The 2-storey wooden villa was built on 7 lots of land purchased in 1916 in the Gora subdivision. A member of the Kan’in-no-miya branch of the Imperial Family fell in love with the area after spending a summer as a guest at the home 1928, and purchased half of the grounds from Iwasaki to build their own villa (now the Gora Kadan Hotel).Read more
Nara prison hotel to open in 2020
The 109-year old former Nara Juvenile Prison in Nara City will be converted into a hotel by 2020. On May 26, Japan’s Ministry of Justice announced that a group of 8 companies, led by Solare Hotels and Resorts, was the successful bidder for the project. A total of 3 groups submitted bids back in January.
The prison was built in 1908 and is the only surviving example of the Five Prisons of the Meiji era. The red brick prison was designed by architect Keijiro Yamashita. Yamashita worked for the Ministry of Justice from 1897 to 1930, and designed many prisons across the country.Read more
New condo for south Omotesando district
Sanyo Homes is developing a luxury low-rise condominium located 550 meters south of Omotesando Station and 160 meters from Kotto-dori ‘Antique’ Street. The property’s address is Shibuya, although it is directly across the street from the Minami Aoyama 5 Chome address.
The new building will replace the 5-storey former Garden Square Minami Aoyama rental-only apartment building (pictured above) which was built in 1989. Many of the low-rise apartment buildings along this street are rental-only and not available for purchase. The average age of a building along this street is 31 years.Read more
Okinawa’s construction costs exceed national average
Construction costs in Okinawa Prefecture now exceed the national average. A shortage in labour and a hotel development boom have pushed construction prices in the prefecture up to levels far exceeding those seen during the bubble economy.
In 2016, the average construction cost was 211,000 Yen per square meter (approx. 175 USD / sq ft), up 10.8% from 2015 and 7.1% higher than the nationwide average of 197,000 Yen/sqm.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices in April 2017
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo was 35,600,000 Yen in April, down 0.6% from the previous month but up 3.9% from last year. The average building age was 22.7 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area the average asking price was 48,410,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 2.1% from last year. The average building age was 22.1 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards the average asking price was 53,230,000 Yen, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 1.3% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya) the average asking price was 73,030,000 Yen, up 0.4% from the previous month and up 1.8% from last year. The average building age was 20.0 years.
New apartment sales in Tokyo in April 2017
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,741 brand new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in April, down 19.6% from the previous month but up 38.6% from last year. This is the 3rd month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in supply.
1,817 apartments were sold, resulting in a contract ratio of 66.3%, up 0.1 points from the previous month but down 0.1 points from last year.
Unsold inventory as at the end of April was 6,649 apartments, down 100 units from the previous month but up 768 units from April 2016.
The average price of a new apartment across greater Tokyo was 59,180,000 Yen, up 5.9% from the previous month and up 2.9% from last year. The average price per square meter was 856,000 Yen, up 8.4% from the previous month and up 3.6% from last year.Read more
Japan’s most expensive apartment building reaches completion in Roppongi
Last year, the rumored quiet sale of a 5.5 billion Yen (approx. 50 million USD) apartment in central Tokyo broke price records. Although the sale has not been confirmed, if true, this would make it the most expensive apartment to have ever been sold in Japan, exceeding the previous record of 4.4 billion Yen paid for a penthouse apartment in Domus Minamiazabu during the bubble era in the late 1980s / early 1990s.
The 580 sqm (6,241 sq ft) apartment is one of two apartments occupying the top floor of the 7-story Park Mansion Hinokicho-Koen. The building was developed by Mitsui Fudosan Residential and construction was completed at the end of April 2017.Read more