Japan real estate sees signs of global investors shying away

Source: Nikkei Asia — 

TOKYO — Money from international investors helped fuel a sharp rise in Japanese property values, but the inflow of funds has slowed recently amid stress in the financial markets.

Japanese land prices jumped at the fastest rate in 15 years, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported on Wednesday. Commercial real estate in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka showed some of the biggest gains on the year.

International investors — aided by a historically weak yen — spent roughly 1.35 trillion yen ($10.2 billion) in 2022 on Japanese real estate, according to the real estate services group CBRE, up 12% from a year earlier.

But in the fourth quarter, investments plunged 42% from a year earlier. One Japan manager at a U.S. investment fund noted a dramatic reversal from previous conditions where buyers would immediately snap up Tokyo properties.