Why have high rise condos seem to be popular again? I can understand that these particular condos are popular since they are relatively cheap but following Fukushima, I thought buyers became generally leery of high rise. Imagine how much you must shake and sway on the 39th floor compared to the 2nd floor in any regular building. And then walking up and down 78 flights of stairs to buy my tuna mayo onigiri lunch when the power is cut. No thanks.
There are tremendous views over expansive greenery available in Tokyo from modestly tall buildings of 12 stories and under. And with far better transportation access too. Admittedly, you don’t get the hotel entrance lobby look of the high rise condos but to each their own.
Good question. While I completely agree with you--especially having lived through a week of using the stairs to access an apartment on the 17th floor of a building in Yokohama after the Great East Japan Earthquake more than a decade ago when the elevator was out--it seems to come down to several of the following factors: convenient location (near train or subway stations), the "cool factor" aka prestige, great views (in some cases), security, and amenities.
May 29, 2023·edited May 29, 2023Liked by Mark Kennedy
I subscribed to the lottery 5 times and failed to get anything. And I was one of the people that applied for the apartment that was 266 times oversubscribed. It's very upsetting that us normal salaryman can only apply for one apartment when investors can apply for several.
I read somewhere that the government wanted to increase the chances for normal people to be able to buy a home in Harumi flag and I think they now have put a restriction where people can only put in a bid for two apartments at a time. it's a bit late, since the majority of the affordable units are sold and what they are selling now are the tower mansion units in the Duo towers which are much more expensive. The government needed to step in earlier.
First, thanks for reading and for the additional first-hand account about this unfortunate situation. Next, sorry to hear about your experience which is, as you know, not all that unique. I completely agree that corporate bidders should have been restricted. The entire tender process seems to have been mismanaged, and the victims seem to have been individual bidders like you who simply wanted to live at Harumi Flag. In any case, I am certain that all of the readers hope that you are able to find a suitable new home as soon as possible.
266 times subscribed compared with zero times subscribed for the 8.5 million akiya in Japan is a kinda crazy way to run a country, isn't it?!
Yes, thank you for reading and the insightful comment, which puts everything in context. It is, without a doubt, a tremendous imbalance of resources.
Why have high rise condos seem to be popular again? I can understand that these particular condos are popular since they are relatively cheap but following Fukushima, I thought buyers became generally leery of high rise. Imagine how much you must shake and sway on the 39th floor compared to the 2nd floor in any regular building. And then walking up and down 78 flights of stairs to buy my tuna mayo onigiri lunch when the power is cut. No thanks.
There are tremendous views over expansive greenery available in Tokyo from modestly tall buildings of 12 stories and under. And with far better transportation access too. Admittedly, you don’t get the hotel entrance lobby look of the high rise condos but to each their own.
Good question. While I completely agree with you--especially having lived through a week of using the stairs to access an apartment on the 17th floor of a building in Yokohama after the Great East Japan Earthquake more than a decade ago when the elevator was out--it seems to come down to several of the following factors: convenient location (near train or subway stations), the "cool factor" aka prestige, great views (in some cases), security, and amenities.
I subscribed to the lottery 5 times and failed to get anything. And I was one of the people that applied for the apartment that was 266 times oversubscribed. It's very upsetting that us normal salaryman can only apply for one apartment when investors can apply for several.
I read somewhere that the government wanted to increase the chances for normal people to be able to buy a home in Harumi flag and I think they now have put a restriction where people can only put in a bid for two apartments at a time. it's a bit late, since the majority of the affordable units are sold and what they are selling now are the tower mansion units in the Duo towers which are much more expensive. The government needed to step in earlier.
First, thanks for reading and for the additional first-hand account about this unfortunate situation. Next, sorry to hear about your experience which is, as you know, not all that unique. I completely agree that corporate bidders should have been restricted. The entire tender process seems to have been mismanaged, and the victims seem to have been individual bidders like you who simply wanted to live at Harumi Flag. In any case, I am certain that all of the readers hope that you are able to find a suitable new home as soon as possible.