40-storey apartment tower planned for Shirokane

The Shirokane 1 Chome West Central District Redevelopment Committee announced plans for two 40-storey high-rise apartment buildings. The development site is located on the western side of Shirokane Aer City, which includes the 43-storey, 134m tall Shirokane Tower apartment building.

The redevelopment will include a 140m tall, 40-storey residential building with 900 apartments and a 20m tall factory building. A town planning decision is expected later this year. Construction could start in 2021 with completion by 2025. The total project cost is estimated at 70 billion Yen (approx. 640 million USD).Read more


Japan’s first Hilton Curio Collection hotel to open in Karuizawa

Tokyu Land Corporation has entered into a franchise agreement with Hilton Hotels & Resorts to open Japan’s first Curio Collection by Hilton hotel in Karuizawa.

KYUKARUIZAWA KIKYO, Curio Collection by Hilton is the rebrand of the former Kyu-Karuizawa Hotel that was acquired by Tokyu in March 2017. It is scheduled to re-open in spring of 2018. The 39-year old hotel sits on a 5,800 sqm site located 1.2km north of Karuizawa Station. Almost 90% of the 50 rooms are over 40 sqm (430 sq ft) in size.Read more


Rent in Tokyo jumps 4.2% thanks to supply of new construction

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,474 Yen/sqm in December 2017, up 4.2% from the previous month and up 3.6% from 2016. The increase was caused by a larger share of relatively new buildings which typically command higher rents, along with the release of a large number of brand new high-rise apartment towers in Shinjuku and Shinagawa.Read more


Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 63rd month

According to REINS 3,011 second-hand apartments were sold across Greater Tokyo in December 2017, up 3.7% from the previous month and up 0.6% from the previous year. The average sale price was 33,200,000 Yen, up 3.7% from the previous month and up 6.3% from 2016. The average price per square meter was 519,400 Yen, up 3.5% from the previous month and up 4.3% from 2016. This is the 60th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 20.85 years.Read more


Marriott to open W Hotel in Osaka in 2021

On January 10, Sekisui House and Marriott International announced plans for Japan’s first W Hotel. The 337-room W Osaka will open in the Shinsaibashi district in 2021. Room rates have yet to be decided, but it is expected that this will be one of the priciest hotels in Osaka city.

The building will be 117 meters tall with 27 floors and will be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando.Read more


Our Japan Property Market Report for 2017

Our annual property market report for the past year can be downloaded in PDF format below.

We continued to see property prices rise in 2017, while transactions hit new highs. The luxury residential market in Tokyo has been a star performer and developers are starting to increase their offerings of high-end apartments to cater to demand.

Supporting the real estate market this year were record high foreign tourist numbers, record low office vacancy rates, a surging share market, improving economic conditions and low unemployment figures.

We have compiled our market insights into the following report:Read more


Tokyo Apartment Sales in December 2017

The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of December 2017:Read more