Chinese Real Estate Buyers Turn to Tokyo

Weak Yen, High Prices at Home Lure Investors to Japan

Beijing and Tokyo may have territorial spats in the East China Sea, but economic ties are trumping politics. Chinese investors’ appetite for Japanese real estate is rising as the yen continues to sink.

So far this year, Chinese individuals and companies have bought almost $230 million in real estate, more than triple the amount from last year, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle .

British luxury property developer Grosvenor Ltd., owned by the family trust of the Duke of Westminster, is betting the influx of rich Chinese investors will help boost demand for its refurbished apartments in Tokyo’s upscale Roppongi area.
“One upside scenario for Japan is its relationship with China,” said Nicholas Loup, chief executive of Grosvenor Asia. “There are huge amounts of money flows between both countries. That’s currently below people’s radar screen.”
The Japanese currency has fallen 25% against the yuan over the past five years, outstripping its 15% fall against the U.S. dollar in the same period.

Chinese tourist arrivals in Japan hit a record high this year, partly due to the weak yen, spurring investment in vacation homes. Japan has emerged as the most desired travel destination for Chinese this year, according to Travelzoo Asia Pacific. There’s also talk about making it easier for Chinese to apply for multiple-entry visas, which would further spur interest.

Rich Chinese are among the biggest foreign buyers in New York and Sydney. But other formerly popular investment destinations like Hong Kong and Singapore are becoming more costly due to taxes on nonresidents. In Hong Kong, Chinese buying is one reason real-estate prices have soared, causing social frictions with local residents.

Foreign buyers see value in Japan. On a square-foot basis, Tokyo property prices in U.S. dollar terms are about half of the levels of comparable areas in Hong Kong, and similar to prices in Beijing and Shanghai. Rental yield can be as high as 6%, compared with 3% in Hong Kong, and about 1% in Beijing.
A pickup in Japan’s real-estate market as its economy recovers, added to building for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, is adding to the attraction;

While much of China’s investment is in retail and industrial projects, there has also been strong demand for private apartments. Since 2011, Chinese investors have bought some $84 million worth of apartments in Japan, Jones Lang LaSalle says.

Other foreign investors are piling in. Total overseas investment in Japanese real estate was 79% higher in 2013 compared with the previous year, according to commercial real-estate firm CBRE.

Some big Chinese companies also are part of the increased buying. In May, conglomerate Fosun Groupacquired Japanese property firm Idera Capital Management as a vehicle for future property investments. Fosun in August acquired a 25-story office building in Tokyo that formerly was Citibank’s Japan headquarters and has further plans to develop real estate.
That’s not to say political tensions aren’t there. In 2012, anti-Japanese protesters attacked Japanese businesses in China.

      A declining yen is making Japanese property more appealing. Above, is Tokyo Tower . Some members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government have called for legislation to monitor foreign purchases of lan in sensitivelocations more closely. That’s seen as anti-Chinese.In 2012, a Chinese consulate’s plan to buy land in port city Niigata for expansion was thwarted by local opposition.  Alex Yeung —director of Century 21 Culture Center Property in Hong Kong, which helps Chinese buyers enter Japan—said local sellers sometimes turn down offers when they learn the buyer is Chinese.“Some owners, especially the older ones, don’t want to sell to the Chinese,” said Mr. YeungStill, real estate officials are hopeful. Japanese property brokerages are expanding in China to capture the rising interest.Tokyu Livable and Nomura Real Estate Urban Net are both opening offices in Hong Kong this month. Tokyu Livable, which already has offices in Shanghai and Taiwan, is hiring more Chinese speakers.Peter Peng, a Shanghai developer, is hoping to develop properties in Japan.“I like Tokyo because its people are polite and homes are well kept,“ he said. Mr. Peng, who owns homes in San Francisco and Hong Kong, said he recently bought a $1.4 million three-bedroom apartment in Tokyo for investment. An apartment in Tokyo is not just a trophy for rich Chinese. Those who are priced out of their home markets are looking at Tokyo for an opportunity to become a homeowner. Apartments in Tokyo’s suburbs start at $100,000, according to Mr. Yeung.   Each month, Mr. Yeung says clients from Hong Kong and China buy dozens of Japanese apartments or retail properties in Tokyo.“One million Hong Kong dollars (US$129,000) can’t even buy you a parking lot in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Yeung. “But you can buy a 200-square-foot apartment in Tokyo and get HK$4,000 to HK$5,000 a month in rent.”                                                                       --John D’Amico in Tokyo contributed to this article.