Land prices in Japan's major cities continued their longest rising streak since the global financial crisis as demand for commercial and residential properties increased at most locations, a sign that the nation's economic recovery is taking root.
A government survey, released Tuesday. showed that land prices in the country's major urban areas increased in more than two-thirds of the places surveyed in the July-September period, underscoring a gradual but steady recovery trend in Japan's real-estate market.
After remaining dormant for years following the collapse of Japan's asset bubble in the early 1990s, the property market has been showing signs of life recently. The rising trend has likely been accelerated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pro-growth policies, property buying in anticipation of a sales-tax increase next spring and Tokyo's successful bid for the 2020 Olympics.
"Shifts toward rising trends continue to be observed broadly," the survey said.
Improved economic sentiment resulting from the Bank of Japan's monetary-easing program-part of the prime minister's effort to revitalize the economy-and expectations for higher interest rates ahead are driving people to buy real estate, a land ministry official said. He played down the impact of residential buying in anticipation of April's sales-tax rise, saying the effects of so-called rush-demand are still limited.
The quarterly survey of residential and commercial land prices by the ministry showed that of 150 areas, mainly in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, prices rose in 107 locations, up from 99 in the previous survey. Prices were flat in 34 areas, down from 41 in the previous survey, while they fell in 9 areas, down from 10.
Source: NewsOnJapan
