The Kahala Hotel & Resort to open in Yokohama
Resorttrust Inc, a Nagoya-based hotel operator and developer, is planning to open The Kahala Hotel & Resort Yokohama in the city’s waterfront district of Minato Mirai by 2020.
Resorttrust plans to capitalize on the Kahala brand-name to attract both domestic and foreign tourists. The project will include two 14-storey hotels - one that is open to the general public, and one that is a members-only hotel. The smallest room will be a 50 sqm suite that is expected to be 100,000 Yen (890 USD) per night. There will also be four rooms of 120 sqm each that will be priced at around 300,000 Yen (2,675 USD) per night.
New apartment prices in greater Tokyo increase for 6th month in a row
According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, 2,978 brand new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in September, up 41.7% from the previous month but down 13.0% from last year. Back in 2013, as many as 5,970 new apartments were released for sale in the month of September.
The average sale price was 58,240,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 4.4% from last year. The average price per square meter was 846,000 Yen, down 2.9% from the previous month but up 7.6% from last year. This is the sixth month in a row to record a year-on-year increase.Read more
Average rent drops for 3rd consecutive month in Tokyo
In September, the average monthly rent of a condominium in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,287 Yen/sqm, down 0.2% from the previous month and down 2.4% from last year. This is the 3rd month in a row to record a year-on-year drop in rents and the lowest level seen in the past 12 months.Read more
Land in Ginza to sell for 64 million Yen (570,000 USD) per square meter
Articles appearing in both the Nikkei Business Publication and the Business Journal have suggested that a block of land (with building) alongside Ginza’s main shopping street will be sold for a record price of up to 64 million Yen per square meter (approx. 570,000 USD/sqm or 53,000 USD/sq ft).
Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 60th consecutive month
According to REINS, 3,222 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in September, up 42.3% from the previous month and up 2.3% from last year. The average sale price was 32,260,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 3.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 506,700 Yen, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 3.3% from last year. This is the 57th month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 21.02 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,686 second-hand apartments were sold, up 47.6% from the previous month and up 2.1% from last year. The average sale price was 39,500,000 Yen, down 2.1% from the previous month but up 3.0% from last year. The average price per square meter was 670,100 Yen, down 2.1% from the previous month but up 3.5% from last year. This is the 60th month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 19.69 years.
Renovating a 30-year old house into a zero-energy home
If you want a well-insulated house in Japan you usually need to build it yourself. If you are looking at an older house to buy or rent, insulation is usually lacking, unless the original owner decided to go the extra mile to create a home with insulation. For the majority of older homes, however, they tend to be built cheaply and can be cold in winter and hot in summer.
The construction and home building industry in Japan has come a long way in recent years with active efforts to create zero-energy homes. There are a lot of options now for double or triple-glazed glass windows, non-aluminum frames, insulation, and thermal breaks.
These insulation options are not just limited to new construction, it is possible to renovate an existing home to make it a zero-energy home.
One of these projects was recently completed in Daizawa near Shimo-kitazawa Station in Tokyo. The 2-story home was built in 1987. It has a concrete basement, while the above-ground structure is wood-frame. The house was fully renovated by Rebita and YKK AP, resulting in a contemporary home with numerous energy-efficient features, insulation, and earthquake-retrofitting.
Kuwait Embassy to be rebuilt
Tokyo will lose another one of Kenzo Tange's works, with the Kuwait Embassy building in Tokyo due to be demolished and rebuilt next year.
The 47-year old building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange (1913-2005) and completed in 1970. Tange is considered one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, designing numerous modernist buildings across Japan and the world.
The 4,100 sqm, 7-story embassy building is located in Minato ward’s Mita district. The upper floors housed the Ambassador’s Residence, while lower floors contained offices. Construction is scheduled to start in April 2018, with completion by April 2020. The new building will be 5-storeys with a total floor area of 3,500 sqm. Suga Architects Office has been selected as the design firm for the new building. Plans on their website show a glass building with a dramatic draped rooftop.