2024 Why Chinese investors are keen on Japanese real estate?

In recent years.Japan Real Estate MarketContinuing to show vigorous development and a strong upward trend in housing prices, it has attracted many domestic and overseas investors.

Among them, Chinese investors have broken in with astonishing scale and enthusiasm, and from the second half of 2023 onwards, the"Chinese home buyers explode into Japanese real estate."It became one of the hot topics that the Japanese media continued to follow.

#01

Chinese buying up Japanese real estate

In a television program featured in a Japanese series, a Chinese man purchased a room in a luxury tower apartment in Tokyo's Shinjuku district with an asking price of ¥215 million, paid in full in direct cash.

Nonomiya Takemi, the owner of the Japanese real estate agency, said that there were about 30 groups of guests who inquired about this room, of which 90% were all Chinese, and that the information about the sale of this house was disclosed only in April 2024, and that it had been sold just by the end of June.

He was amazed by the "money power" of the Chinese people.

There were also Chinese who spent 500 million yen on housing in Tokyo's Taito Ward; and nationals in Tokyo's Minato-ku and Shibuya Ward bought apartments worth about 1.3 billion yen and 2 billion yen, respectively.

It has been pointed out that it is the influx of Chinese who are buying Japanese real estate in large numbers that is causing Japanese prices to rise. According to the Real Estate Economics Research Institute, the average price of a new condominium in the Tokyo metropolitan area will be 75.66 million yen in 2023.Year-on-year growth of 9.5%, a record high for the third consecutive year. 

In particular, prices in Tokyo's 23 wards rose by 5.7% to 14.64 million yen, surpassing the 100 million yen mark for the first time.
#02

Why is Japanese real estate so popular?

Why is Japanese real estate a popular choice for Chinese investors?

1️⃣ Investment in Japan's property market is soaring

While the global real estate market has seen a decline in investment, the Japanese real estate market has shown a different trend - it has risen. Many real estate service companies have mentioned that "Japan's real estate transaction activity is the strongest in the world this year."

Japan has long been in the top 10 in overseas real estate rankings, and "in 2024, commercial properties such as logistics centers and hotels, as well as residences in downtown Tokyo and Osaka, will be increasingly attractive to foreign institutional investors and individual buyers."

2️⃣ monetary inflation

In 2024, the supply of RMB broad money M2 may exceed 300 trillion, however, domestic means of fighting inflation, such as real estate, stock market and funds, have failed, and seeking overseas assets has become an option for more and more people.

3️⃣ Buying a house and becoming a "Japanese landlord" across the border

In addition to buying a house to preserve the value of the cross-border "Japanese landlord" is also the intention of many people after buying a house. For young Japanese, renting is more realistic than buying. Japan's real estate prices have been on the rise since 2010, with apartment prices nationwide almost doubling what they were 13 years ago.

In comparison, the increase in rent is still within an acceptable range. For example, the data for September 2023 for a small one-bedroom apartment of less than 30 square meters in the Tokyo metropolitan area shows a year-on-year increase of 4.61 TP3T, while the year-on-year increase in rent for small apartments of 50-70 square meters suitable for families is also less than 71 TP3T. It is precisely because of this that nearly half of the Japanese people are choosing to rent an apartment instead of buying a house.

On the other hand, the rent-to-own ratio of Japanese houses is generally around 5%, and you can get your money back in about 20 years, so buying and renting is really a good business.

4️⃣ Make money by opening a bed and breakfast - Identity Plus

Japanese hotels are expensive and very small, even 4-star hotels are only 12 square meters, while a 50-100 square meter minshuku with complete infrastructure and easy access is cheaper than a hotel. That is why B&Bs are very popular with tourists from all over the world.

Secondly, opening a B&B is also convenient for investors to apply for Japanese"Business Management Visa"With a "Management Visa", you can get a visa to manage your business. With the Business Management Visa, it is possible toEnjoy free public education and medical insurance in Japan, as well as a range of social benefits.

Therefore, buying a house in Japan as a minshuku has always been a better investment.

If you are also interested in Japanese real estate or moving to Japan, please feel free to contact us!