Tokyo Mini-Bubble Looms as Negative Rates Drive Property Boom
- Land prices have surged to record in Ginza as of Jan. 1
- Property buyers 'can barely break even' on investments: Mizuho
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Japan’s negative interest rate policy is prompting investors looking for regular income to flock into the real estate market, raising concern that Tokyo property prices are overheating.
Japan Retail Fund Investment Corp. said in February it would buy a 50 percent stake in a commercial building for 13 billion yen ($116 million) in the capital’s ritzy Ginza district where land prices have surged to a record as of Jan. 1. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s REIT index has climbed more than 6 percent this year, and net purchases of the trusts by overseas investors rose to a nine-year high in February, according to the bourse’s data.