Originally Posted by
gnaget
MJM, you always disparage my comments when I inform that it is possible to find nice places at far below the prices that you (and 5K) cite. The Akasaka real estate website data supports my experience, and provides invaluable data about asking prices for neighborhoods, age, etc.. The key difference is that one will pay a hell of lot more per SQM when renting from a big corporation than something independently owned.
It is clear to me that the big corporations (like MJM's employer) prefer to have low occupancy than discount units during downturns like 2008-2012. I think higher asking prices for expat targeted housing is partly driven by the weaker yen.
In our case the house was actually being leased by a big corporation that was also the builder, but the property (and the adjacent identical house) was owned by a private individual. To reduce risk he had a contract where he was paid by the corporation whether the house was rented or not. I have no idea if these arrangements are common in Japan.
p.s. Another anecdote was a beautiful house in Yoyogi-Uehara that was brand new as of 2009 and never rented. It was all marble, roof deck, around 200 SQM and we probably could have rented it for 600k. (The asking price had not been cut by much like the other.)
I do not mean to disparage people, but I also have a hard time seeing the market in which I work being inaccurately described here where so many people come for information on Japan. Please understand that my comments were not meant to hurt, merely clarify.
On asking prices, these are available from most developers and all agents. From the horse’s mouth so to speak. Smaller property owners are likely to be more flexible on pricing I agree. Not always but it is a good rule of thumb.
On occupancy, I am not sure what leads you to believe large firms have low occupancy. That is not so. After the Lehman Shock price plummeted and elasticity was noticed. Occupancies stayed very high as a result. Now with demand outstripping supply prices have risen.
The arrangement you described is actually quite common yes, and is used primarily by owners who for one reason or another do utilize the space they own. The developer can often lease it with the other units very effectively.