I’m thinking of investing into a Japanese property (Kyoto) and it’s going for almost 500,000 AUD. Do you think this is a good idea? I hear that Japan is not a good place to invest into property and the market depreciates in value but I only have been hearing one side to this. Has anyone else had a good run with this?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/yd22m1/investing_in_japanese_property_in_kyoto/
9 comments
it’s a delusional property market in my experience
Put that money in the stock market or purchase real estate in aus, rent it out, and use the proceeds from that to rent in Japan…
I did the same thing except in Canada about 3 yrs ago, miles ahead now then if i had bought in Osaka as was my original plan…
You will make so much more money anywhere else than Japan – especially Kyoto. It is so much easier for you to invest in Australia which is going to get you higher rents, increase in value, and you can manage the tenants yourself if you so desire.
Japan literally has no upsides unless you already have money in Japan and don’t have a way to easily get it overseas.
You have provided both the cost and city (and nothing else) so I am surprised you haven’t gotten more detailed responses.
Ignore the negative responses. The yen is weak. Kyoto is an international brand. If you like the city, buy a piece of it. It’s not getting any cheaper.
If you invested in an apartment in a good area, central Tokyo 10-15 years ago you would have made a killing. 5 or so years ago you would still be up 20%+, maybe more. It is a total myth that real estate in Japan only goes down.
If you want exposure to Japanese real estate I would consider looking at J-REITS rather than owning physical property, especially if you live abroad (even more so, if you don’t speak the language).
You’re not going to make money on it, so it’s not an “investment.” It could even just be a money pit. But if you want to have a home in Japan, it might be worth it for your own purposes.
But there’s plenty to think about:
Are you a legal resident of Japan? If not, you might want to reconsider buying property, as non-residents were barred from entering Japan for the past year. It would suck to buy a house and then not having any legal ability to visit it.
Are you prepared to pay for repairs and upkeep? Houses in general require a lot of money to keep up, but that’s especially true disaster-prone Japan. A mudslide, a flash flood, an earthquake, a fire… all of these could wipe out your home in a night and if you’re not nearby to check on it regularly, you might miss potentially disastrous things like leaks/termites/other infestations before it’s too late to stop them. Burglars being another thing entirely…
Do you speak & read excellent Japanese? You’ll probably want to hire a property manager to look after the house while you’re away to avoid the problems listed above. Also, buying a house is no easy process, made even more difficult for someone without language proficiency.
In short, if you already live here, it’s great to own a home! But if you’re not a resident, then I would 100% recommend against putting that much money into something so fraught with peril.
JMO but investments are generally least risky when the asset is very liquid, lots of buy/sell activity; that doesn’t sound like the Japanese real estate market.
My aunt used to live close to Narita in a double storey house before she sold and bought a condo near Yokohama some years back.
She had a hard time selling as according to her, only the land has value. Anything above ground is pretty much worthless. It sold eventually but not before giving her some headaches.
I reckon Kyoto may not be too dissimilar. I would exercise caution and do my homework if I were you.