Newsletter
September 2005
Property in Kobe, Japan
Welcome to the ffeilden newsletter, a newsletter for English speaking individuals or businesses looking to buy or rent property in Kobe, Ashiya and Nishinomiya in Japan. Please take a look at our website: www.ffeilden.com
Commentary from Tokyo.
We are signed up for one or two e-mail newsletters in Japan. A paragraph from a newsletter from PII in Tokyo grabbed our attention.
“Officially, the National Tax Agency has said that land prices in Tokyo rose for the first time in 13 years in 2004. Well, I can tell you that from personal observation, the inner Tokyo property market has definitely bottomed out. Even in the last 6 months, the prices of second-hand apartments with more than 100 sq.m. of floor area (necessary for a family of 5) have increased by JPY5-15MM. Increasingly, I am starting to realize that there is a recovery going on, and what we read in the newspapers is for real.” (Source: PII, a free Japan Inc. publication at: http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=pii).
In other words, not only are Tokyo land values recovering as we reported last month, it looks like second hand apartment values in Tokyo are recovering too.
We have always assumed that a property recovery in Japan will begin in Tokyo, and spread like ripples moving out from the center. If it follows approximately the same pattern as in the UK, where the ripples spread from London, we expect prices to start rising in Kobe about one year after Tokyo. We wait next years National Tax Agency figures with interest.
For Sale in Kobe
On a completely different note, we came across this unusual house for sale on the hillside in Shinsenji, near Shin Kobe. It is a bit 1970s Japan, (yes old by Kobe standards) with old-sized tatami mats (big) and a tokonoma. There is a enormous kitchen and a front garden, (but no parking space). 132sqm priced at 26.8m yen.
We have an affection for old houses with original building features (although the above property doesn’t really qualify). It seems whenever they come on the market they get bulldozed and replaced with apartments, so we are always on the look out for them.
Remember, we have access to all the properties registered for sale on the real estate agents network. And as always, you can request a search via our online application form: www.ffeilden.com/form.php