BEYOND TOKYO
Most Singaporean buyers are hunting for investment properties, particularly short-term rentals catering to tourists, though some are purchasing retirement or holiday homes.
Centrally located apartments are preferred over standalone houses, as they are easier to rent out and manage remotely, according to Ms Chua Shir Yee, head of international sales at PropNex.
While Tokyo remains the dominant destination – particularly prime districts like Roppongi and Shibuya – Osaka is rapidly gaining ground.
The nation’s third-largest city in population offers a compelling value proposition: property prices roughly 30 per cent lower than Tokyo, higher rental yields and fewer restrictions on short-term rental operations.
Mr Amous Lee, chief executive of FM Investment, estimates rental yields in Osaka to be around 5 per cent compared with Tokyo’s 3 per cent.
“Ginza, Roppongi, Shibuya and Shinjuku will always be trophy assets for investors, especially high net worth individuals, but Singaporeans also look at numbers,” he said. “With 3 per cent rental yield in Tokyo, they will turn to somewhere else.”
Major infrastructure projects are sweetening the deal. A multibillion-dollar casino resort opening in 2029 is expected to drive tourism numbers even higher. Demand for short-stay accommodations in Osaka has reached “an all-time high”, according to Savills Singapore.
Beyond the top-tier cities, investors familiar with Japan are venturing into Nagoya, Fukuoka and Yokohama, seeking even lower entry points into the market, said Ms Chua.
MARKET RESPONSE
Property firms are meeting the demand through partnerships, seminars and curated offerings.
Savills Singapore shifted its focus in Japan from resort investment opportunities to residential properties this year, conducting multiple five-week campaigns that each received around 200 inquiries.
Mr Ruben Koh, head and senior director for international residential sales at Savills Singapore, said that sales were slow initially but began to pick up around June. He attributes this partly to concerns about US tariffs and declining returns on low-risk investments such as fixed deposits.
“Once the fears subsided and interest rates in Singapore started plummeting, investors started to look elsewhere for better yields,” he said.
Realion’s real estate agency arm OrangeTee recently announced a partnership with Tokyu Livable, one of Japan’s largest real estate agencies and a shareholder of OrangeTee since 2014.
The collaboration aims to provide a curated portfolio of Japanese residential and investment-grade properties and what Realion calls “premium” renovated apartments – resale units purchased, renovated and offered with 10-year warranties by Tokyu Livable.
“In a lot of very good areas, there’s no more land left for sale,” said Mr Quek, who is also chief executive of OrangeTee. “So the only access is to get well-located units off the secondary market.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/japan-property-singaporeans-invest-tokyo-osaka-5417431
