Japan real estate continues booming

Japan real estate lures Hong Kong, Singapore buyers with weak yen

TOKYO -- A weak yen has brought out the bargain hunters in Japan's real estate market, with foreign institutional investors mobilizing billions of dollars for property deals.
 
Hong Kong's Gaw Capital Partners in May announced the acquisition of 32 rental apartment properties in Tokyo, Osaka and elsewhere, with plans to invest up to 540 billion yen ($4.1 billion) in Japan over the next two years.
 
Meanwhile, Singapore state investor GIC has reached a 147.1 billion yen deal with Japan's Seibu Holdings to buy 31 properties, including the Prince Park Tower Tokyo.
 
The yen's softness is driving the deals. An index tracking Japanese commercial real estate prices in dollars has fallen near a record low set in 2014.
 
But all that money pouring in from abroad may have a downside. Some analysts warn that land prices are getting out of step with real demand.