What has changed in the real estate industry since Covid-19?
Now that we are many months into the pandemic, has anything changed about the way the real estate agencies are operating? For the most part, business has returned to usual, with some adjustments.
Tokyo apartment discounts in July
The median discount on an existing apartment sold in Tokyo’s 23 wards shrunk for the 4th month in a row, with 1.4% seen on transactions in July. This is 0.4 points lower than the median seen in July 2019. Buying activity continued to improve in July, with transaction numbers that may be on par with last year.
Quick real estate news summary for the week
Home loan interest rates rise, housing starts drop, Starbucks enters co-working space, and three prefectures see an increase in population. Below is a quick weekly summary of some of the recent goings-on in the Japanese real estate market.
113-year old house in Setagaya may be demolished
Unless a last-minute deal can be struck, the historic former home of Yukio Ozaki (1858-1954), a revered politician nicknamed the ‘father of the Japanese Constitution’, is likely to be demolished very soon.
Apparel company sells flagship Ginza building
On July 17, apparel giant Sanyo Shokai announced the sale of their flagship building in Ginza. Temporary store closures during the pandemic have hit the brick-and-mortar retail sector hard, with some cashing out of their real estate holdings to shore up cash reserves. Real estate developers are having a field day as struggling companies reach out to offload long-held and highly-prized assets.
260m tall twin-tower project for Shinjuku Station
Two 260-meter tall high-rise towers are rumored for Shinjuku Station. If completed, they would exceed the height of the nearby 243-meter Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Tokyo Apartment Sales in July 2020
The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2020: