As the Japanese government continues its preparations ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, the Bank of Japan’s massive economic stimulus plan — in response to the 2008 global financial crisis — has kept interest rates near zero percent since 2010.
Japanese outbound real estate investment, through both commingled funds and direct investments, has seen significant growth since 2016. In our latest survey of more than 120 Japanese institutional investors regarding overseas real estate investment, 73 percent are considering investment through real estate funds and 47 percent through direct investment.
Those funds that invested at the height of the market in the precrisis period are now actively looking for exits because they have completed their holding periods. As such, the focus in India on exits and distribution of profits is greater than ever before. But challenges remain.
The way we used to retire is retiring. With lifespans extending well into the 80s, many people will experience the “third age of man”, a new period of life that used to be called “old age”. This new reality requires a shift in mentality for many, and a total recast of the way we save and plan for that period of life.
The curtain is about to rise on China and India as rental-housing powerhouses. At present, the world’s largest securitised housing sector is in the United States, where REITs encompassing multifamily, manufactured homes and single-family dwellings sport a market cap of more than US$145 billion. Japan’s housing REITs are next, with US$24 billion.
Compact cities are better for their inhabitants, the environment and investors, according to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Coalition for Urban Transitions’ new report, Supporting Smart Urban Development: Successful Investing in Density.
While regaining some lost ground in July after weak second quarter performance, Asia Pacific property stocks generally are still struggling from a combination of factors, including higher US interest rates, heightened trade-war tensions, a decoupling of once synchronised global growth, and greater differences in government policies surrounding economic stimulus measures and property cooling measures.