Multiple apartments being sold in the same building - is it fishy?

[milagrace2018]

I was checking 2 different areas on Suumo, and both results have more than a couple of apartments put on sale from the same building.

In Hachioji 6/15 are "Sun Grande Hachioji":

https://suumo.jp/jj/bukken/ichiran/...mb=0&mt=9999999&md=3&md=4&md=5&et=7&et=7&fw2=

In Higashiyamato 7/19 are "Suncradle Sakuragoaka":

https://suumo.jp/jj/bukken/ichiran/...=9999999&sc=13220&ta=13&tj=10&pc=30&po=1&pj=2

These aren't new buildings, so I'm wondering what is going on here.

Did 6-7 tenants decided to move all at-once? Or maybe a single owner just cashing out?

Seeing this of course raises a red-flag, but maybe there is a simple explanation and I shouldn't worry about it.

 

[manishk012]

@milagrace2018 I can’t really parse your links but there are a few reasons this can happen:

• Are you sure these are all different units? It’s very common for the same unit to appear multiple times on Suumo
• If the building is 5 years old then that’s the cutoff for a lower capital gains bracket so people who bought as an investment are likely to sell. 10 years is also a psychological timeframe where owners might consider selling, though there are no tax implications there.
• If the building is 20 or 30 years old, since many people will buy around their 30s or 40s, it’s not out of the ordinary for a few of them to hit retirement age and want to move out around the same time
• I browse Cowcamo a lot and often see different units of the same building coming up in succession. I think this can also happen that own owner will successfully reform and sell for a good price, other owners will notice and take the opportunity to do the same.

So all in all, I don’t think it’s necessarily weird.

 

[milagrace2018]

@manishk012 I'll just post the individual links to the properties:

Hachioji:

• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_74397178/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_74204833/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_74458059/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_74163350/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_72564015/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_hachioji/nc_73725696/

Higashiyamato:

• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_74321210/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_72138524/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_73858579/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_74166157/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_73825688/
• https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/tokyo/sc_higashiyamato/nc_72641094/

From further inspection, it may be a case of the same apartment being posted by different agents.

 

[seanswife406]

@milagrace2018 Ya it's different agents or companies. They just go through places on a central private database for real estate companies and then post on Suumo or whatever to get business, and if you happen to email it's a great lead for them and will contact you.

If you don't get good responses or long delays just move onto an agent that seems to be working hard and responds at least daily. Also if they feel annoyed or high pressure after 3rd place def move onto another agent.

We went through like 12+ places (mainly cause the places kept getting snatched up immediately or had insane single income limits and couldn't combine house income. Our agent never showed a sign of annoyance and we've had a few before in the past.

Edit: oh realized you're buying so probably same principles apply or find a good agent and do work for them too and just show them these listings as well, they'll also have off market ones to see.

 

[ande12]

@milagrace2018 On Suumo in particular, I’ve always seen a LOT of the exact same unit posted as different listings. It’s just a case of the owner using two or three different agents to get their unit filled sooner. It can be confusing, since different realtors use different pictures and layout diagrams.

 

[etaylor36]

@milagrace2018 We had the same concern. 6 years ago. Many units were selling. We bought it anyway. Turned out it was just timing. The building was 10 years old at that time. Many previous owners needs have changed, kids grown up etc. we found no issue with the building. Now very few units are available and the price went up along with the market. The building is in central Tokyo.