Worve Yokohama Isezakicho was completed in February of this year
Aberdeen Investments announced on Tuesday that it has acquired a Yokohama apartment complex and a set of 29 Tokyo residential properties to expand its Japan living sector strategy.
The UK asset manager said that it has acquired Worve Yokohama Isezakicho, a newly completed build-to-rent property in Yokohama, which will add 228 units to its portfolio. Aberdeen’s Tokyo purchase encompasses 671 residential units and two retail units across the capital’s central 23 wards.
“We have a very strong real estate team based in Tokyo that was able to source and acquire the portfolio off-market and secured both investments at attractive prices,” Jason Baggaley, head of living, value add, and APAC direct real estate at Aberdeen said. “We are looking to grow our real estate business in Japan by building on the strong capabilities we already have.“
With Aberdeen having inked a deal with Dutch fund manager PGGM in October last year to expand its Japan residential strategy, the UK firm has now added more than 1,000 apartments to its portfolio in the country during 2025.
Adding Yokohama to the Portfolio
Aberdeen is acquiring Worve Yokohama Isezakicho after the 15-storey project was completed in February of this year by Haseko Corporation, with sources familiar with the transaction naming the Tokyo stock exchange-listed developer as the seller.
Harumi Kadono, head of Japan real estate at Aberdeen Investments
The Edinburgh-based asset manager did not provide financial details on the transaction, however, market sources indicated that Haseko had been seeking in excess of JPY 9 billion ($59 million) for the property. Haseko representatives had not responded to inquiries from Mingtiandi by the time of publication.
The Yokohama property is Aberdeen’s second pickup of a Worve project from Haseko, after the company acquired Worve Tokyo Kiba in Koto ward in a deal announced in May.
Worve Yokohama Isezakicho has 218 residential units and four retail units, and is located within seven minutes’ walk of Isezakicho Station on Tokyo Metro’s Blue Line. The building is also within 10 minutes’ walk of Kannai Station on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line, which puts potential commuters just under an hour away from Tokyo Station by train.
“High condominium prices are also pushing more households to rent,” said Harumi Kadono, head of Japan real estate at Aberdeen Investments. “While strong rental growth has been concentrated in Tokyo’s Central 5 Wards, we expect this trend to extend to peripheral wards and Greater Tokyo areas like Yokohama and Kawasaki as households seek more affordable options.”
Occupying a 1,916.05 square metre (20,624 square foot) site, the property spans 13,412.35 square metres of gross floor area, based on its 7:1 plot ratio. Should Aberdeen have acquired the property for JPY 9 billion, the firm would have paid the equivalent of JPY 67,102 per square metre of gross floor area.
In June this year Worve Yokohama Isezakicho was given a 5-star rating, the highest marks possible, under the Development Bank of Japan’s Green Building Certification system and the property includes amenities such as a fitness room, laundry facilities and flexible office space. Online listings show 37 square metre apartments in Worve Yokohama Isezakicho, which is located at 3 Isezakicho in Naka ward, available for JPY 141,000 per month, excluding fees.
In Tokyo, Aberdeen has acquired 29 recently completed apartment blocks across the capital’s Tokyo’s 23 Wards, with the buildings having a weighted average age of 4.3 years. The portfolio’s 671 residential units and two retail spaces include 580 studios and 91 family-type units, according to Aberdeen.
Expanding in Japan
With the two transactions announced this week adding 895 homes to Aberdeen’s Japan portfolio, the investment firm is betting on continued demand for apartments in Asia Pacific’s most developed rental residential market.
Average residential rents in Tokyo’s 23 Wards rose at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9 percent over the past three years, according to figures from real estate agency At-Home and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Research Institute cited by Aberdeen, after having averaged 2.3 percent annual growth over the past decade.
Greater Tokyo locations such as Yokohama and Kawasaki climbed at an average of 3.4 percent over the past three years, compared to 2.0 percent in the past decade..
“Structural demand drivers – such as sustained net migration, growth in single-person and DINK (“Dual-Income, No Kids”) households, and elevated development costs limiting new supply – will keep multifamily vacancy rates tight,” said Aberdeen’s Kadono.
In addition to its purchase of Worve Tokyo Kiba, in May Aberdeen acquired Dimus Negishi, a 71-unit property in the capital’s Taito ward, with the two acquisitions giving it 196 homes. Other global investors have also been busy buying up Japanese apartment assets.
Last month Weave Living made its fourth Japan acquisition within one year, with the regional multi-family specialist adding approximately 300 homes to its portfolio through the purchase of seven Tokyo properties.
In September, German investment manager Patrizia said it had purchased 14 Tokyo apartment buildings on behalf of a fund backed by GIC, to give it more than 800 units in Tokyo’s central 23 wards.
During the third quarter, Alyssa Partners, TE Capital and Dash Living teamed up to purchase Lumiec un Minami Azabu in Tokyo’s Minato ward with the partners since renaming the 130-unit property as Dash Living Minami Azabu.
AloJapan.com