Second-hand apartment transactions reach record high in 2021
According to REINS, a total of 39,812 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in 2021, up 11.1% from 2020 and the highest level on record. Second-hand apartment transactions have exceeded those of new apartments, with the total supply of brand-new apartments in 2021 at 33,636 units. The myth of buyers only preferring new construction is well and truly ancient.
New apartment prices in Tokyo’s 23 wards still not at bubble high, but close
In 2021 the average price of a brand new apartment released for sale across greater Tokyo reached the highest level in history, beating a record high set during the asset bubble years of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Abandoned hotel worries worsen in Nikko
Several dangerously dilapidated and abandoned hotels in Nikko’s Kinugawa onsen district have the city concerned.
The city has identified 16 abandoned hotels and ryokans in need of action. Three hotels have fallen into a dangerous level of disrepair, with the owners nowhere to be found. The 8 and 10-story concrete buildings are located on cliffside land between Kinugawa River and the national highway and have been closed for 10 ~ 20 years.
Tokyo apartment prices increase for 20th month
The average reported sale price per square meter for a second-hand apartment across greater Tokyo increased for the 20th month in a row in December. Last month, the average sale price was 641,700 Yen/sqm, up 5.3% from the previous month and up 11.6% from December 2020.
No buyers for abandoned hotels
Shuttered and abandoned, the Tenninkyō Grand Hotel in the Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido is one of many dilapidated hotels across Japan that cannot even be given away.
US fund to acquire Ooedo Onsen Monogatari
Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital announced the sale of Ooedo Onsen Monogatari to US fund Lone Star Group. The transfer of the management rights is expected to take place by the end of February.
Our Japan Property Market Report for 2021
2021 saw much of the country in a state or semi-state of emergency for most of the year. Nevertheless, the Nikkei stock index ended the year at the highest level seen since 1989. The real estate market also steamed ahead as buyers appeared to be unfazed by the pandemic. For most sectors of the real estate market, conditions remained somewhat similar to 2020. Residential prices continued to rise as inventory dwindled. Rental prices diverged as larger apartments saw rents rise while smaller studios saw rents fall.
Please feel free to view or download the PDF of our annual Japan Property Market Report, linked below.