Category: News
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan Mortgage Rates Rise Again: MUFG and SMBC Hike Variable Rates as Flat 35 Hits Record 3.46%
Major Japanese banks have again raised their variable mortgage rates. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank will raise its preferential variable mortgage rate by 0.25 percentage points in September, from the previous month to 1.195%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation will also raise its variable mortgage rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.525%. This is the first increase… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Taiwan Buyers Accounted for 62% of Overseas Purchases of New Tokyo Condos, Far Ahead of China
Recent data from January to June 2025 on Tokyo 23 Ward new condo acquisitions by owners with overseas addresses have provided some interesting insights. While many would assume that purchasers from China would be on top, in fact, as recently as 2019, China and Taiwan were nearly tied. Now in the aforementioned period last year,… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Rising Interest Rates Put Japan’s Apartment Loan Investors Under Pressure
Japan, having finally returned to a positive interest rate environment, is creating new challenges for investors. In particular, many individual, salaried investors who had taken out apartment loans are feeling the crunch. These loans are intended to finance income-producing properties. When borrowing costs were only around 1-2%, these investments could actually be profitable. Once rates… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Why Japan’s Older Housing Is Making a Comeback as Rents Rise
An aging, large-scale rental housing complex in Sakai City, Osaka, has recently seen a surprisingly major recovery in occupancy. Built in 1971, Chayamadai Danchi was constructed during Japan’s high-growth era. It sported features such as private baths and flush toilets that made it highly desirable at the time, with apparently more than 50 applications for… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Chiba Flooding Highlights Hidden Condo Risks: What Buyers in Japan Should Check Before Buying
Heavy, torrential rain on August 13 caused power outages across Chiba Prefecture, affecting nearly 67,990 households. By the 17th, 13 condominium buildings were still without power. At the time of writing, this is already old news, but it brings attention to some important points for potential buyers. Chiba is located just east of Tokyo and… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Tokyo Apartment Construction Costs Hit Record High in July 2026, Up 5.4% Year-on-Year
Tokyo apartment construction costs hit a new record in July 2026, according to the Construction Research Institute. The institute uses 2015 average costs as a baseline of 100 for its construction cost index. Against that baseline, the index for reinforced-concrete multifamily housing in Tokyo reached a hefty 146.5 in July, up 0.6% month-on-month and 5.4%… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Canadian Investment Firm Brookfield Buys 50 Japanese Apartment Buildings in ¥100 Billion Deal
Canadian investment firm Brookfield recently broke into the Japanese residential real estate market, acquiring a portfolio of 50 multifamily residential properties in Japan. With a total purchase price of more than ¥100 billion, the investment includes approximately 3,700 rental units, making it one of the largest multifamily acquisitions in Japan this year. The purchase was… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Tokyo Condo Asking Prices Hit Record Highs as Buyer Interest Trails by ¥45 Million
Tokyo asking prices are reaching record highs, but actual buyer engagement is coming in at much lower levels. We can see this gap in LIFULL HOME’S July 2026 data. For reference, LIFULL HOME’S is a major Japanese property-search platform operated by LIFULL, and its monthly market reports compare properties advertised on LIFULL HOME’S with properties… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan’s 10-Year Fixed Mortgage Trap: Why Rates Can Jump After the Fixed Period Ends
Rising mortgage rates in Japan have been hitting those with variable-rate loans hard, but fixed-rate loans may not be immune either. With fixed-period mortgages, commonly seen as 10-year fixed-rate loans, the interest rate often shifts to a variable rate after that initial period. The problem is that the rate applied after the switch may be… More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Tokyo Used Condo Price Growth Stalls Across Much of the 23 Wards
Tokyo’s used condominium market may be showing signs of a slowdown. While a lot of recent analysis has focused on falling asking prices in central Tokyo, if you look at completed transaction data, much of the market has stalled across the 23 wards. For example, in the central wards of Chiyoda, Chuo, and Minato, prices… More