Japan isn’t called the Land of the Rising Sun for nothing. In 2016, Japan hit a record of 24 million foreign visitors after its government encouraged more tourists for population growth. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number increased by 21.8% from the year 2015.
While many people visit Japan every year, only a few people see the country as a place for investments. Real estate in Japan, however, is a hidden gem.
Affordability
Most businessmen remember the economic bubble of Japan in the late 1980s, when land prices rose by more than 300%. Real estate has improved a lot since then. Properties experienced more than a 50% drop from the highest price point until the year 2005. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, property values dropped.
Although the real estate of Japan has gone through a lot of ups and downs, it is doing well compared to most property markets in the world. Buildings and residential units in Tokyo have reached 60% of recovery – critics expect the value of Japanese properties to rise within the next 10 years. While the prices of buildings and house rentals in Japan are still at a minimum, experts from Sumitomo Realty & Development CO., Ltd. believe that today might be the best time to invest.
Quality Construction
We all know that Japan, situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is prone to earthquakes. It is a common misconception that because natural calamities come and go in and out of the country, it isn’t a viable location for investments.
What we aren’t familiar with, however, is the strict building codes and regulations given by the Japanese government to construction agencies. It is a must for infrastructure to withstand earthquakes. Almost none of the buildings built after the revision of the New Earthquake Resistance Building Standard Amendment (or Shin- Taishin) collapsed during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Japan has always been an advantageous country, but its edge among fellow developing nations is that it always fulfils its promises.