Tag - housing

 
 

HOUSING

A residential area under development by Country Garden in Shanghai in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2024
Old for new: China's latest property market plan off to a poor start
More than 50 cities have launched their own versions of the "swap old for new" program.
A suburb in Melbourne. Surging rents across many developed economies are proving to be a stubborn hurdle for central banks as they struggle to nail down inflation once and for all.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2024
Rents set to be last domino to fall in global inflation battle
Surging rents across many developed economies are proving to be a stubborn hurdle for central banks as they struggle to nail down inflation.
Over the past two years, 2.4 million people arrived in Canada, more than the population of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Yet Canada barely added enough housing that would cater to just the residents of the New Mexico capital of Albuquerque.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 6, 2024
Global housing shortages are crushing immigration-fueled growth
In developed economies such as Canada, Australia and the U.K., life is getting tougher for both locals and immigrants alike.
Despite bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan faces a rising number of abandoned properties, particularly in rural areas, which pose risks to communities and economies.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2024
Abandoned homes will be a big part of Japan’s future
Statistics reveal a significant increase in vacant and abandoned homes, with projections indicating a further rise unless addressed soon.
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
JAPAN
May 1, 2024
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
The preliminary figure jumped by 510,000 from 2018, when the previous survey was taken, and doubled from 4.48 million in 1993.
A man rides a scooter past apartment high rises under construction in Zhengzhou, China, in January 2019.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2024
Strained Chinese cities struggle to pay homebuying subsidies
Some local governments are unable to raise funds to pay promised subsidies, frustrating buyers and casting doubts over future support measures.
Protesters outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a legal fight over homelessness and a bid by Grants Pass, Oregon, to enforce local laws against people camping on public property
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court scrutinizes laws used against the homeless
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case about whether a city in Oregon banning camping outside on public streets and parks violates the Constitution.
Demolition work is seen underway on a house damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, last week.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2024
Quake-hit Ishikawa sees slow progress in housing demolitions
As of April 16, only three demolitions had been completed, despite 78,000 homes in the prefecture being damaged.
The average condo price in central Tokyo's 23 wards came to ¥104.64 million in fiscal 2023, topping ¥100 million for the first time on a fiscal year basis.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2024
Tokyo-area condo prices hit record high for third year in a row
In central Tokyo's 23 wards, the average condo price rose 5.7% to ¥104.64 million, topping ¥100 million for the first time.
A guest room at the Muji Hotel Ginza. Ryohin Keikaku, the brand’s parent company, now has a new business called Muji Stay, which brings under one umbrella the retailer’s existing hotels, homes and camps.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024
Japan’s Muji bets minimalist retail will work for homes and hotels
Muji currently has three hotels — one in Ginza, one in Beijing and one in Shenzhen, with rooms often booked out months in advance
The outdoor version of an "instant house," developed and set up by architect Keisuke Kitagawa in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2024
'Instant Houses' used widely in Noto quake-hit areas
The structure, which can be erected in an hour, is 4 meters tall with a floor area of 20 square meters.
An Ishikawa prefectural official gives information on new places to stay for earthquake evacuees lodging at hotels and inns during a meeting in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2024
Departure deadline approaching for Noto quake evacuees in hotels
The extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen on March 16 is expected to lead to a surge in bookings in hotels that have acted as secondary evacuation sites.
Japan is eyeing a system that would make it easier for rental housing owners to lease their properties to elderly people.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 13, 2024
Certification system eyed for rental housing with elderly watch services
For certified rental housing, watch services would be provided mainly by local social welfare corporations and nonprofit organizations.
The rubble of a house that collapse due to the New Year's Day earthquake, in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2024
Central Japan cities hit hard by quake had high rate of old homes
In Suzu, 65% of residences were built before 1981 when the country's seismic standards were significantly upgraded.
Evergrande, the world's most indebted developer with more than $300 billion of total liabilities, sent a struggling property sector into a tailspin when it defaulted on its debt in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024
Embattled China Evergrande ordered to liquidate by Hong Kong court
A liquidation ruling of the developer which has $240 billion of assets will likely jolt already fragile Chinese capital and property markets.
Australian Tayler Paulsen and her Kiwi husband Neil managed to purchase a fully-equipped lodge in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, for only AU$110,000 (about ¥10 million).
COMMUNITY / The Foreign Element
Jan 29, 2024
In Niigata, a winter (and real estate) wonderland
For Australians and New Zealanders facing expensive prices back home, Japan’s snow country is a hotbed for cheap real estate.
Condominiums in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2024
Central Tokyo condo price tops ¥100 million for first time
The record average price was driven by luxury properties and soaring construction material prices.
The average price of a new apartment for sale in Tokyo and surrounding areas surged 29% to a fresh high of ¥81 million in 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2024
Tokyo apartment prices reach record high for third straight year
Prices are expected to keep climbing in 2024 even as the economy slows and the Bank of Japan looks to abandon its negative interest-rate policy.
Past warnings of a housing-market crash in China have never been borne out. But unless the government takes concerted action, this time may well be different.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2024
Fixing China’s real estate sector
Housing dreams to economic nightmares, the perils of China's real estate boom.
A worker builds a home in Lillington, North Carolina, in June. Appetite among Japanese companies in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2024
A $4.9 billion Japan deal for a U.S. builder heralds more M&A
Appetite among Japanese buyers in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan