Developer seeks to cancel contracts in luxury Aoyama apartment building after fault discovered

The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama TakagichoMitsubishi Jisho Residence is currently in the process of cancelling sale contracts on apartments in The Parkhouse Grand Minamiaoyama Takagicho after a construction fault was discovered.

Just before Christmas in 2013, an anonymous post on an online discussion board mentioned that there had been some core drilling into the concrete. Drilling holes in concrete to take core samples usually indicates a potentially serious problem.  Adding to suspicions, Mitsubishi removed the sales page for the project and removed any mention of the new building from their website a few days later. The building still had 3 apartments left for sale.

The message boards lit up with comments from concerned buyers who were desperate for an official response from Mitsubishi.

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Ralph Lauren Building in Omotesando to be sold for 35 billion Yen

Mitsubishi Corporation have entered into final negotiations to purchase the Espoir Omotesando building for 35 billion Yen (340 million USD). The sellers - Secured Capital Investment Management, Orix and Trinity Investment - acquired the building in 2010 for 31 billion Yen. It was one of the biggest transactions in Japan that year. Read more


Daiwa House to demolish modernist building in Kobe

Osaka Gas Shinkaichi Building Kobe 3

An example of Japan's pre-war modernist architecture is slated for demolition in February. The former Osaka Gas Shinkaichi Building in Chuo-ku, Kobe, has survived WWII firebombing raids and the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, but is unlikely to survive the urban redevelopment as it will soon be replaced by an apartment building. Read more


Looking back at the new apartment market in Tokyo in 2013

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute's report on the new apartment market in greater Tokyo, a total of 56,476 apartments were released for sale over the year, up 23.8% from 2012. This is the first time in six years that this number has exceeded 50,000.  The previous high was in 2000 with 95,635 apartments released for sale.

In Tokyo's 23-ku, 28,338 new apartments were released for sale, up 46.1% from the previous year. Read more


Chuo-ku facing challenging road to Olympics

The bayside area in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, including Kachidoki and Harumi, is seeing a surge in development and high demand from buyers following the Olympic announcement several months ago. But there are concerns that the current infrastructure may not cope with the rising population, which is expected to grow by 30% in coming years.

Large supply of apartments in the pipeline

Developers are now racing ahead to build new condominiums in bayside sites that had previously laid dormant for several decades.Read more


NHK to Redevelop Shibuya Broadcasting Centre

NHK Broadcasting Centre Shibuya 2

Television broadcaster NHK announced plans to redevelop their broadcasting centre in Shibuya. The project is expected to cost approximately 300 billion Yen and will be completed by 2025 (although the president of NHK expressed a desire to have it completed by the 2020 Olympics).Read more


Secondhand apartment prices in December (and 2013 average) - Tokyo Kantei

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sqft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in 2013 was 27,910,000 Yen, down 2.5% from the previous year. The average apartment age was 20.2 years. For the month of December, the average price was 28,310,000 Yen, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 0.4% from December 2012.

The average price in Tokyo's 23 wards in 2013 was 39,950,000 Yen, up 0.5% from 2012. The average building age was 20.5 years. For the month of December, the average asking price was 40,660,000 Yen, up 0.1% from the previous month and 2.3% higher than December 2012.Read more