The Next Chapter in the Suruga Bank Forgery Scandal
By Jeff Wynkoop The Suruga Bank share house forgery scandal is entering a new chapter. A second share house operator and client of Suruga Bank called “Golden Gain”（ゴールデンゲイン）applied for bankruptcy protection on May 23rd. This follows the April 2018 bankruptcy... More
Tokyo Market Trends
Sale Prices for Apartments in Greater Tokyo Hit Post-Asset Bubble High
New condominium sales in greater Tokyo had a banner year in fiscal 2017, as the average sales price for a newly constructed apartment hit ¥59,210,000 ($552,300), the highest level seen since 1990. This was also the sixth straight year of... More
Buying a Pre-Owned Home
Is 2018 the Time to Buy a Home in Japan? Big Changes Coming to the Market
By Jeff Wynkoop The construction boom for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is in full swing, and the asking price for newly-built residences in central Tokyo keeps going up like so many new cranes dotting the city. As new home prices... More
How much does it cost to buy a new house in Tokyo?
Amid tight supply, the average list price of a newly constructed house for sale in the Tokyo 23 wards leaped 8.5% year-on-year last month. This is according to a recent report by Tokyo Kantei (in Japanese). Below we summarize the... More
What to do with Tokyo’s hundreds of thousands of abandoned homes
At the forefront of socioeconomic issues facing Japan is its aging and declining population, and perhaps no where will this manifest itself more visibly than in the country’s real estate and infrastructure. Local governments throughout Japan, including Tokyo, are having... More
Market Trends
Tokyo Condo Prices Soar to Near Record Highs in 2017
The average price of new condominiums sold in greater Tokyo hit near record levels in 2017, with developers significantly increasing their offerings of upscale units priced at 100 million yen or higher. This is according to a recently released report... More
Market Trends
Outlook for the Greater Tokyo New Condo Market in 2018
The Real Estate Economic Institute (REEI) has released its forecast for supply and trends in the new condominium market for the greater Tokyo area, which includes Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama. Supply of New Condos to... More