Skyz Tower & Garden to begin sales in July

Sales of apartments in Skyz Tower & Garden in Toyosu are scheduled to begin in July. This is part of the 'Tokyo Wonderful Project' redevelopment of a 32,000 sqm site that was once a Tepco-owned thermal power station.

The 150m tall condominium will contain 1,110 apartments ranging in size from 53.25 to 130.92 sqm (573 ~ 1408 sqft) and priced from 35 to 139 million Yen. A 74.50 sqm 3-bedroom apartment will be priced around 55 million Yen (738,000 Yen/sqm), and some apartments will be priced over 100 million Yen. Over 10,000 inquiries have been made prior to the opening of the showroom this coming weekend. Read more

by Zoe Ward

New apartments in Tokyo on sale in April

According to real estate information service provider, Mercury, a total of 92 new buildings with 9742 apartments will go on sale in greater Tokyo in April. The number of new buildings is down 28% from March and the total number of apartments decreased by 29%.Read more

by Zoe Ward

100 billion Yen redevelopment project for Toyosu area

Mitsui Fudosan will be embarking on a large-scale redevelopment of Koto-ku's Toyosu area from next year. The 100 billion Yen (1.3 billion USD) project on one of Tokyo Bay's reclaimed islands will cover a 47,400 sqm site. The project will include two high-rise office buildings (31 and 22 stories) as well as retail facilities. Due to the nature of the site, measures will be taken to strengthen the ground against liquefaction and the building will be built using "seishin" (vibration-control) construction. Completion is scheduled for 2016 and Mitsui Fudosan will be contributing 90 billion Yen in capital.Read more

by Zoe Ward

High-rise Refugees

Tokyo's bayside area, which has seen a boom in high-rise condominiums or "tower mansions" in recent years, is now considered a rather risky area to live since the March 11 earthquake. The earthquake caused land liquefaction and many elevators to stop working, resulting in a newly coined term for residents living on high floors - "high-rise refugees".

"There was a lot of swaying. It felt like an amusement park ride" remarked a resident who lives in a 54-storey condominium in Koto-ku's Shinonome area. "I still cannot forget the sounds made by the steel-frame of the building."Read more

by Zoe Ward

The 2011 Japan earthquake and what it means for the real estate market

One month has passed since the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. With strong aftershocks continuing and a nuclear disaster that was just upgraded to the maximum level, uncertainty remains over what will happen to the Japanese economy in the short and medium term.Read more

by Zoe Ward