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Tokyo Olympics 2020 spikes interest in real estate

The September 7th announcement in Buenos Aires that Tokyo had won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics caused an immediate spike in interest in real estate in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympic Games proposal which calls for a ‘compact Olympics’ with the majority of events in an 8-kilometer radius of the Olympic Village immediately focused attention on 2 key areas – the Tokyo Waterfront City area where the Olympic Village will be built, as well as a number of new sports venues, and the inner city, especially areas close to the main stadium.

The strongest growth is anticipated in the Harumi area located on two man-made islands in the Tokyo Waterfront City just 3 kilometers from Ginza where the Olympic Village will be built. The Olympics promises to boost infrastructure in the area, including access to public transportation, parks, shopping and related lifestyle services, making its proximity to the downtown and the outdoors by Tokyo Bay even more appealing. Indeed, the day after the announcement, developers of new apartment blocks in the area reported striking increases in the flow of enquires and visits to model homes for new developments coming to market.

The Olympic Village complex is slated to be the largest housing development in Tokyo in over 40 years. It will be financed by developers and built on land that has already been set aside as part the Tokyo Waterfront City, an ongoing urban development project that has been developed on a masterplan by the Tokyo Municipal Government.

Located in the middle of two main competition zones, the Village will comprise over 10,800 luxury residential units in nearly 20 buildings, along with training gyms, dining halls, seaside restaurants and parks. The village will be surrounded by the bay with a view of Rainbow Bridge, which connects central Tokyo and the Tokyo Waterfront City area.

A number of leading Japanese leading real estate developers already have major apartment projects being built in the area. With the growing interest sparked by the Olympic Games, pricing is expected to strengthen over the years leading up to 2020, providing excellent investment opportunities.