Tag Archive for real estate investing

Japanese Condominium Prices For Investment Reach Record High in Q1 2023 (by Rakumachi)

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Rakumachi, a real estate website in Japan, conducted market research for the first quarter of 2023

and found that the prices of all types of investment properties in Japan have increased.

(Not property for living)

 

The average price of one-room apartments increased to 74.95 million yen,

the average price of one-building apartments rose to 277.9 million yen,

and the average price of condominiums rose to 18.81 million yen.

One-room apartments had a yield of 8.98%（gross yield), while one-building apartments had a yield of 7.52%(gross yield),

and condominiums had a yield of 6.87% (gross yield).

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“au Jibun Bank and SBI Sumishin Net Bank Shake Up the Japanese Home Loan Market: A Borrower’s Guide”

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Competitive Landscape in Japan’s

Home Loan Industry

: Unraveling the Impact of

Internet-Only Banks

 

The Japanese home loan market is witnessing fierce competition, with internet-only banks

 

such as au Jibun Bank and SBI Sumishin Net Bank leading the charge.

 

 

These banks leverage their lower operating costs to offer attractive interest rates

 

on variable-rate home loans.

 

Recently, au Jibun Bank expanded its preferential rates, reaching as low as 0.196%

 

for some customers. Meanwhile, SBI Sumishin Net Bank,

 

which has a market share of around 5%, reduced its refinancing rate to 0.299%.

 

 

Traditional banks are also competing by lowering their expenses through digitization

 

and offering competitive interest rates.

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Japanese Real Estate Essentials: City Planning Law for the residential districts.

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The city planning law, which was created by the ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, exist to regulate urban development.

The law divides all Japan into mainly two parts; city planning area which is regulated by the city planning law and the non-city planning area which is not regulated by this law.

The law defines 12 zoning districts within urbanization promotion areas.

Of these zoning districts, three have a primary effect on real estate projects residential district, commercial districts and industrial district.

Specific regulations for each district such as allowable use, building coverage ratio and floor area ratio are defined by the building standards law.

When you buy a property in Japan, it is very important to know which district your property exists.

Because each district is highly regulated by the specifics of city planning law(and building standards law)

and such regulations always affect the neighbourhood.

The law regulates the hight, allowable use, building coverage ratio, floor area ratio, type of the business and the size of the business and so on.

For example, you can not open a restaurant in category 1 low-rise exclusive residential districts.

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Charming resort mansions in Yuzawa area, Niigata?: Think twice

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(Naeba ski resort in Niigata)

Sparkling ?

There are many resort condos in Yuzawa in Niigata for sale at a very reasonable price.

I found an interesting article about resort condos and would like to share the summary with you today.

 

After the burst of the bubble, the residents of the condominiums became elderly. 

Yuzawa Town, Niigata Prefecture, the Joetsu Shinkansen entered Ueno in 1985, and the entire Kanetsu Expressway was opened, becoming a tourist destination that attracts 10 million people annually. 

You can enjoy skiing and hot springs effortlessly from the Tokyo metropolitan area. 

In the bubble economy, 58 resort condominiums were built by 1993 with a total of approximately 15,000 units. 

According to real estate information company Tokyo Kantei, there are about 80,000 resort condominiums nationwide.

Yuzawa accounts for close to 20%.

 

However, the ski boom has gone, and prices have fallen due to oversupply.

About 30 years since the bubble, condominium users have also changed significantly.

According to the town, out of over 8000 townspeople as of April 2016, more than 1000 people registered the current address in apartments.

It accounts for 12% of the townspeople.

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Japanese real estate essentials: What is the Building Standards Law?

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What is the purpose of the mission of the Building Standards Law?

The Building Standards Law （建築基準法）was created for the MLIT to provide basic rules for construction during a building and the stipulates minimum engineering safety requirements concerning fire earthquake and other natural disasters.

It also stipulates the types of buildings we can build according to each zoning district(用途地域)

under the city planning law.

A building not contracted to meet this requirement is regarded as an illegal building however a building previously constructed in compliance with a standard existing at the time of the construction but which no longer meet current construction standards is not considered as an illegal building but rather called non-conforming building. (既存不適格）

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When you find the cheap property, please make sure if it is a non-conforming building or not. It is not a fatal mistake to buy such a property, but you have to understand what you are running into beforehand. 

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Japanese real estate essentials: What kind of laws do you need to understand before you buy a property in Japan ?

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Here is  how it works : Japanese real estate essentials.

What kind of laws are protecting rights of your real estate in Japan ?

The civil law describes the general rules for the purchase and sales (and lease) of the property.

The civil law regulates ownership and superficies and also provide the definition of rights such as pledge and mortgage.

As a conventional individual, I think you only need to know how the mortgage works in Japan.

The land lease and building lease law, which is special law of civil law, provides

the general rules of land lease and building lease.

The act on sectional ownership of buildings provides the general rules on sectional ownership, meaning

the law is for the condominiums.

The real estate registration law is for the real estate registration system.

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Real estate investment in Japan : Beautiful Stories, Hard Realities

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Beautiful Stories, Hard Realities

Real estate agents/realtors are always holding seminars in Tokyo, Osaka and elsewhere, luring in amateur investors (for Japanese investors so far)

and telling them beautiful stories of how this person or that person got rich in the property market.

I never exaggerate such successes in my seminars, although of course they do exist.

Instead, I always tell the audience true stories from my experience and those of other clients and inexperienced investors, and in particular about the mistakes made.

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Essentials : How is the real estate ownership registered in Japan ?

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Just the basics.

Today I am going to share some basic laws and regulations on the real estate in Japan.

1 How does the real estate registration work in Japan ?

The real estate registration system is governed by the real estate registration law (不動産登記法）

Properties are registered in the real estate register which gives the basic information of the property and its

rights/titles.

The registration record can be reviewed at the legal affairs bureau. (法務局)

The registration information can be accessed by the internet by paying a small fee (you can also

get a copy of registration at local legal affairs bureau.

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Do you need an inkan (seal, name stamp) to buy a property in Japan ?

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(How to use inkan)

What kind of documents do you need to have for the registration of your property ?

After you acquire your property, you want to register your ownership with the officials here, right ?

If you don’t register your ownership(title), you can not legally argue that your property is yours.

You need the officially backing from the government.

Japan has the system called ‘Real estate registration’ (FUDOSAN-TOUKI 不動産登記)

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How the commission for agents (realtors) works in Japan ?: Risks you should watch (YouTube)

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How the commission for agents (realtors) work in Japan ?
The system is very different from that of USA.

In the US, sellers pay the commission to the sellers agents (listing agents) and buyers don’t pay the commission.

(Later, sellers agents split the commission with buyers agents)

In Japan, a buyer pays the 3% commission to buyers agent and a seller pays the same 3% to sellers agent (listing agent)

3% is the statutory rate and not negotiable (it is but I don’t negotiate).

Japan has been infamous for the problem of “dual agency”.

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