In the past, Tokyu Livable hosted a seminar for real estate investors in Japan, targeting people from South Korea. On that occasion, I began working with participants on transactions in Japan, exchanging information and building up experience. The companies providing Japanese-Korean real estate investment consultation on the Korean side are Pudongsan 114 (Real Estate 411), the largest real estate information provider in Korea, and its subsidiary brokerage company for domestic and international real estate, Map Realty. I have worked closely with those companies for several years, exchanging information and ideas, and my seminar developed from that relationship.

For OPINS, Tokyu Livable suggested having a booth and that I give a talk, introducing the Japanese real estate investment market. In addition to being able to take a direct look at the real estate in Korea, we thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about Tokyu Livable, so we decided to participate.

The theme of my talk was corporate real estate in Japan. Although Korea and Japan are geographically neighbors, I figured that for people in Korea, the Japanese real estate market would be a distant, largely unknown field. My main purpose was therefore to present the circumstances of the real estate market in Japan today so the audience would have an accurate understanding of the situation. As an introduction to recent changes in the housing and business real estate markets, I discussed the development of J-REITs through the present and the entrance of foreign investment firms in Japan. I also talked on a detailed level, discussing the top 10 neighborhoods where people want to live and the top 10 areas where people want to work in Tokyo for those not familiar with Japan. Examples I provided of major transactions in Tokyo in recent months included the Ginza Tiffany Building, the Toranomon Pastoral and the Ginza Toshiba Building. My hope is that I presented a future of the Japanese real estate investment market that is attractive by showing the audience how active Tokyo is as the core of the country.

The audience appeared to be made up more of business types such as bank investors rather than individuals. I think that’s why I received so many hard-hitting questions. One such question asked why foreign investment firms should continue investments in Japan given the declining birthrate and aging population here. Someone else asked my opinion of investing in regional properties given the overconcentration of the population in Tokyo and the disparity found outside of the Tokyo area. Another probing question concerned the effect of the subprime crisis in Japan. I really didn’t anticipate some of these questions and was sometimes at a loss with how to answer, but I also came away with an appreciation for the high level of interest the people of Korea have in Japanese real estate investment. I feel that the seminar was stimulating for me and productive overall.

Over the past five to six years, real estate prices have shown a higher rate of increase in Seoul than in Tokyo, and that trend continues to this day. With concerns that the market is overheating, Korean investors view overseas real estate as a promising area to pursue after divesting local real estate to realize their profits.

This show was therefore a good opportunity for people to take stock of the current investment environment. Television stations were present filming and a lot of people attended; there seemed to be a high level of interest in Korea. We also had a large number of visitors to our booth, a number of whom had proposals that developed into specific business conversations. With more than 12 million people each, the metropolises of Tokyo and Seoul are a mere two hours apart by plane, but real estate exchange has been nearly nonexistent up to the present. Participation in the show was therefore a good opportunity to build awareness about Japan, and I am proud of the fact that it provided a way to break through the lack of information exchange.

To make the Japanese real estate market more transparent, I hope to continue working on increasing international interest. At Tokyu Livable, I think we need to provide a structure where people can invest and feel confident about it. This would include creating a support system with specialist attorneys and accountants as well as a guide to transaction strategies and business practices that are unique to Japan. With both an organizational system and the human resources in place, I hope to continue working to make Tokyu Livable a company that acts as a contact for Korean people with concerns about Japanese real estate transactions, leading to an even more active exchange.