【News Article】Japan Hana Interviewed by South China Morning Post
Hong Kong investors are turning to Japan for real estate
Local investors join others from China in flocking to Japan to buy property, particularly hotels and private lodgings
Tokyo and Osaka are the main markets of choice, with not even a tough law on home sharing introduced last year, turning off buyers
Many investors see Japan as a safe haven against the risks of the US-China trade war, agents said. They added that buyers also held a rosy outlook of the country’s economic and tourism development, with the Tokyo Olympics next year and a plan to develop an integrated casino resort in Osaka, one of Japan’s largest metropolitan areas and the host of the 2025 World Expo.
Generally, Tokyo and Osaka have benefited the most from the increasing investment, according to agents. However, Osaka had taken over Tokyo in investments in private lodgings, said Glass Wu, CEO and co-founder of Japan Hana.
Wu said that was because the capital city’s property market had become too hot for some buyers, while Osaka remained cheaper and had fewer restrictions in managing private lodgings under the minpaku law.
However, the wait is likely to last, as the city’s shortage of land may still keep the market going. Two major measures to increase land supply, including 1,000 hectares of artificial islands off Lantau Island and a plan for the government to co-develop farmland with private developers who own the sites, have recently met with delays due to the political turmoil over the extradition bill.
The two measures were expected to see progress last month, but amid numerous protests, marches and non-cooperative movements, the government has pushed the plans back with an uncertain timetable for the projects.
Developers had earlier raised fears that the government might not be able to roll out enough sites for sale next year.
