Photo/Illutration An artist’s rendition of the Toyomi Tower Marine and Sky complex, now under construction in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward (From a document released by Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co. and other entities)

Demand for units in new residential complexes in certain urban areas is so great that the server for a website handling requests for condominium showings crashed due to high traffic.

For another massive housing project, the reservation slots for tours were filled within minutes.

Driving demand are the growing number of consumers seeking valuable assets at relatively affordable rates, according to experts.

On Feb. 26, an email was sent to prospective buyers of homes in the Toyomi Tower Marine and Sky complex in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward.

The email expressed an “apology over our booking form server’s crash.”

The high-rise complex, with 2,046 condominiums, is being constructed under a redevelopment program by such entities as Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co.

The company explained to its customers that up to 10,000 people visited the complex’s website to register their contact information and other details as part of the “entry” process.

Those who completed the entry procedure then sought reservations on a dedicated site to view model rooms.

“The server was down due to the larger number of accesses than initially expected,” a Mitsui Fudosan Residential representative said.

The parent company, Mitsui Fudosan Co., declined to comment on the collapse of the server.

Booking model apartment tours has proven particularly difficult in other cases, including for the 513-unit Park Tower Osaka Dojimahama in Osaka and the 807-unit Park City Nakano The Tower Airz/ The Tower Breeze in central Tokyo.

During one sales period, the visitor reservation quota for one of the properties filled up within a few minutes.

According to multiple leading developers, people interested in buying new apartments must basically start with the entry process, advance to the model room visit, and then apply to purchase the home.

Those who tour the model condominiums are not guaranteed to be buyers of homes in a specific housing complex.

An excess number of applications can lead to a lottery system for units. This seems to be the trend these days.

Osamu Nagashima, chairman of real estate consulting firm Sakura Jimusho, said demand is growing particularly for large-scale properties in urban areas with high asset value against the backdrop of relatively high stock prices and low interest rates.

Actually, huge residential complexes in redeveloped areas near stations are often flooded with appointments for apartment showings.

“Only some of the properties in central Tokyo are enjoying significant popularity,” Nagashima noted. “Apartments in suburban zones occasionally remain unsold.”

Shogo Fujita, president of FJ Realty, a housing agency handling high-rise apartments and other previously owned condominiums in the capital, said the market may be overheating.

“Demand has quickly risen over the last several years to the point where model apartment tours are difficult to book,” Fujita said.

One factor cited by Fujita is the widespread use of social media and other online sites.

Consumers can now instantly share information through blogs and X on the affordability of planned apartments compared with existing homes in a neighborhood.

Although data on properties is becoming increasingly transparent, Fujita warned that buyers are apt to be “overly swayed” by the recent tendency to pursue much higher asset values.

“Condominiums in urban areas can now be considered a type of financial merchandise,” he said. “First-time apartment buyers especially should stay calm, choosing homes from the viewpoint of, for example, where they would like to establish their lives.”

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