50-yr old apartment building in Shinjuku to be refurbished
A former luxury rental apartment building in Shinjuku is undergoing a full refurbishment. Rather than follow the standard practice of demolishing and rebuilding from scratch, the 50-year old building will be stripped back to its concrete structure, retrofitted and renovated.
2021 sees continued demand for real estate in Tokyo
Although Tokyo’s office vacancy rate has been climbing for the past 20 months, institutional investors are not shying away from the nation’s capital. With vacancy rates on the rise and rents falling, real estate prices should typically decrease. However, in a low interest rate environment investors are content with lower yields and are paying more to secure prime real estate.
Tokyo office vacancy rate climbs for 20th month
According to brokerage Miki Shoji, the average vacancy rate for office space across Tokyo’s five business districts of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya reached 6.47% in October, up 0.04 points from the previous month and up 2.54 points from last year. This is the 20th month in a row to see an increase.
Tokyo apartment prices increase for 18th month
Apartment prices across Tokyo continued to climb last month with REINS reporting a 7.9% year-on-year increase in the average price per square meter of a second-hand apartment sold across the greater Tokyo area. This is the 18th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase.
Modernist National Theatre to be demolished
The Japan Arts Council is moving forward on plans to demolish the National Theatre of Japan building in Chiyoda and replace it with a new theatre with a hotel on the upper floors.
Larger apartments take up larger share of supply in Tokyo
Good news for buyers hoping to find a decently-sized apartment in Tokyo - the share of brand-new three-bedroom apartments over 100 sqm supplied to the market in Tokyo’s 23 wards so far in 2021 has reached 5.7%, up from a 5.1% share in 2020. This is still below the record high of 8.4% seen in 2007.
Tokyo Apartment Sales in October 2021
The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of October 2021: