INTERNATIONAL: Japanese property on a roll as Chinese grow weary of traditional hotspots Vancouver, Sydney

PHOTO: Tokyo home prices rose by an average of 7 to 10 per cent last year, according to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Photo: EPA

Interest by Chinese buyers in Tokyo property has shot up 10-fold in the first quarter, according to property portal Juwai.com
Japan’s proximity to China also seen as a positive when managing overseas investment properties

Japan’s property market appears to be a beneficiary from the worsening of US-China trade war, as a rising number of affluent mainlanders shift their attention to assets in Tokyo ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.

Property portal Juwai.com said its data showed interest by Chinese buyers in the Tokyo property market had risen by a factor of 10 in the first quarter, versus the number of inquiries made a year earlier.

“Some Chinese buyers are holding back from residential real estate in the US because of the trade war,” said Carrie Law, chief executive of Juwai.com.

“Events in the trade war have been unpredictable. They worry that after buying US property, they might later have problems with their visa or other issues that make it hard for them to keep that property.”