Karakami Kankoh to close two 1960s hotels in Wakayama
Karakami Kankoh, a Sapporo-based hotel and onsen operator, will close two ageing hotels in Wakayama Prefecture next year.
Hotel Coganoi (103 rooms) and the Shirahama Seaside Hotel (91 rooms) were both built in 1961. Despite having operating ratios of around 70% between April and August this year, the continued operation of the hotels has proven difficult due to their age and the fact that they were built to the old and out-dated earthquake codes. The company had considered retrofitting the buildings, but the 1 billion Yen (8.4 million USD) cost was considered too high. Both hotels will close at the end of March 2016.Read more
Second building in Yokohama found to be tilting
On October 14, the Nikkei Shimbun reported that an 8-year old, 12-storey condominium in Yokohama’s Tsuzuki Ward was starting to lean due to insufficient foundations. The construction company, Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., saw share prices slide by 30% yesterday morning after the news was announced.
The residential complex has four buildings and 700 apartments. In late 2014, residents noticed that the handrails in one of the building’s corridors was 2cm higher than the corresponding ones from the connecting building, while there was a 1.5cm gap between the floors. Read more
Central Tokyo apartment sale prices reach new 7 year high
According to REINS, 2,772 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in September, up 14.8% from the previous month but down 5.7% from last year. This is the first time in six months that transactions have fallen below last year’s level.
The average apartment sale price was 29,580,000 Yen, up 4.5% from the previous month and up 7.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 462,700 Yen, up 3.2% from the previous month and up 9.0% from last year. The average building age was 20.00 years.
1,389 second-hand apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, up 17.2% from the previous month but down 2.5% from last year. The average sale price was 36,070,000 Yen, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 6.8% from last year. The average price per square meter was 612,500 Yen, up 1.7% from the previous month and up 7.8% from last year. The average building age was 18.99 years.
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 156 second-hand apartments were sold, up 9.9% from the previous month and up 3.3% from last year.
The average sale price was 53,100,000 Yen, up 2.8% from the previous month and up 8.6% from last year. The average sale price per square meter was 1,024,500 Yen/sqm, up 0.6% from the previous month and up 13.7% from last year. This is now the fourth month in a row to see prices exceed the 1,000,000 Yen/sqm level. The average building age was 16.58 years.Read more
Idle ocean-front land in Miura sold to Chiba buyer
An idle parcel of ocean-front land in Miura, Kanagawa, will be sold to a Chiba-based company later this year. The 13.5 hectare (1.45 million sq.ft) site is currently owned by Properst, a Tokyo-based developer. The sale price has not been disclosed and it is unclear what the new buyer plans to do with the site.
The site was developed by Seibu Railway between 1955 and 1965. It was originally an inlet, but the land was reclaimed to create a potential tourist destination. Properst acquired the site in early 2007 for 8.1 billion Yen (approx. 67.5 million USD at the time) and planned to construct several apartment buildings containing 1,400 units, a 140-room hotel, marina, retail, 152 residential building lots, and parkland. The project would have housed around 3,000 residents. This was exciting news for Miura City, which had been battling a declining and ageing population.Read more
Tokyu to start flipping luxury condominiums
This month, Tokyu Land will start sales of condominium units in a 9 year old residential building in Roppongi. The company acquired the former Residia Tower Roppongi, a 27-storey rental-only tower, in 2014 and will soon start selling off the apartments individually as they become vacant.
The revamped building has been re-named ‘Majes Tower Roppongi’. It is across the street from The National Art Center, 200 meters from Tokyo Midtown and 600 meters from Roppongi Hills. Apartment prices will range from 60 ~ 200 million Yen (500,000 ~ 1.66 million USD), with an average price of around 1,630,000 Yen/sqm (1,260 USD/sq.qft).
A 47.88 sqm (515 sq.ft) studio apartment on the 8th floor is listed for 66,100,000 Yen, while a 117.14 sqm (1,260 sq.ft) 2-Bedroom apartment on the 6th floor is listed for 199,600,000 Yen.
Based on average rents, investor-buyers should expect gross yields the 2 ~ 3% range. Just 6 of the 83 apartments will be available for sale during the first round of sales this month. They will be ready for delivery to buyers from early 2016.
Because this was originally built as a rental building, it does not have floating floors (something commonly found in condominiums as a way to provide extra insulation and sound proofing, and allow for easier re-configurations of piping and layout). Ceiling heights are also a maximum of 2,450mm, which is average but a little lower than the 2,500 ~ 2,600mm found in luxury residences.Read more
West Japan’s most expensive apartment to go on sale in Kyoto
On October 8, Mitsubishi Jisho Residence announced a new condominium project for central Kyoto. The most expensive apartment in the building will be priced at over 700 million Yen (5.85 million USD). According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, this is the most expensive apartment to be released for sale in West Japan in the past 20 years. With a price of around 2,440,000 Yen/sqm (1,895 USD/sq.ft), it is similar to the current price of luxury high-rise apartments in central Tokyo.
The Parkhouse Kyoto Kamogawa Gosho-Higashi is located alongside Kyoto’s Kamo River and is 250 meters east of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. This will be the first condominium to be built alongside this river since 2004.Read more
Residential yields in Minato-ku - October 2015
According to real estate listing site Homes, the average gross yield on an apartment in Minato-ku in October was 4.5%, down 0.1 points from the previous month and down 0.5 points from last year. The average gross yield across Tokyo was 6.5%, showing no change from the previous month and down 0.4 points from last year.
The average asking price of a second-hand apartment in Minato-ku was 871,257 Yen/sqm as of October 1, 2015, down 0.4% from the previous month but up 9.3% from last year. The average asking price for land was 1,269,090 Yen/sqm, up 2.6% from the previous month but down 0.7% from last year.Read more