Japan Foreclosed Property 2015-2016 - Buy this 5th edition report!

Over the years, this ebook has been enhanced with additional research to offer a comprehensive appraisal of the Japanese foreclosed property market, as well as offering economic and industry analysis. The author travels to Japan regularly to keep abreast of the local market conditions, and has purchased several foreclosed properties, as well as bidding on others. Japan is one of the few markets offering high-yielding property investment opportunities. Contrary to the 'rural depopulation' scepticism, the urban centres are growing, and they have always been a magnet for expatriates in Asia. Japan is a place where expats, investors (big or small) can make highly profitable real estate investments. Japan is a large market, with a plethora of cheap properties up for tender by the courts. Few other Western nations offer such cheap property so close to major infrastructure. Japan is unique in this respect, and it offers such a different life experience, which also makes it special. There is a plethora of property is depopulating rural areas, however there are fortnightly tenders offering plenty of property in Japan's cities as well. I bought a dormitory 1hr from Tokyo for just $US30,000.
You can view foreclosed properties listed for as little as $US10,000 in Japan thanks to depopulation and a culture that is geared towards working for the state. I bought foreclosed properties in Japan and now I reveal all in our expanded 350+page report. The information you need to know, strategies to apply, where to get help, and the tools to use. We even help you avoid the tsunami and nuclear risks since I was a geologist/mining finance analyst in a past life. Check out the "feedback" in our blog for stories of success by customers of our previous reports.

Download Table of Contents here.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Recommended Property Markets in Asia-Pacific

There has been a bit more interest in our Japan Foreclosed and Philippines Property Reports of late. More interesting perhaps is the shift in the types of buyers. I detect greater interest from professional investors in Japan, as opposed to most buyers who are foreigners married to locals.

There is less interest in New Zealand, which is understandable given the recession, and the changes to the NZ immigration classifications, and all-round job losses. The strong $NZ is neither helping the economy, nor providing foreigners with the incentives to invest there. We are not complaining. We bought property there when the forex rate was 50-55 USD, now its 67c, so all is good. Property at the bottom-end of the market, where we bought is holding up well, and I expect inflation to keep it that way. On our side, there have been no more drive-by shootings, which has kept property prices higher. We are hoping that the thieves who took the water heater have not come back, as we are currently in the Philippines. The missing water heater no doubt drove a few customers away, and allowed us to get a real good price. Top that off with the fact that when we bought the outlook was particularly bad, and the 70's plus couple were probably looking at a repeat of the Great Depression, which they would have heard tirelessly about in their childhood.
I am also encouraged by the appointment of a right-wing politician Don Brash to a productivity inquiry. The government is keen to catch up with Australia.
In Japan we bought a property which is not in a "Urban Designated Zone" though given the level of housing construction in this valley in the mountains west of Tokyo, we are expecting a re-zoning in coming years, and a shift to town water/sewage supplies. We are comforted by the construction of high-value 'lifestyle' townhouses on the hill for Y30mil a piece. That should help our property purchases for just Y2.8mil. I provide more property buying strategies in our Japan Foreclosed book.

In the Philippines, we are also happy to report that our properties in Lipa City are looking good. Lipa is a growing city with a lot of promise. It is well located between Manila and Batangas. Great for foreigners who like to go to Puerto Gallera. It has the attraction of a cooler climate since its at an elevation of 400m, and there are areas which are even higher. It has three shopping malls, though I must say its still "franchise city". There have been some attempts to establish higher-end restaurants, but each has failed. I was particularly fond of the Korean restaurant. Fortunately there is now a new Savory franchise in SM Lipa which actually makes franchise food particularly tasty.
We are most pleased with our investment in Lipa. Both properties were foreclosed property purchases. One was in an upmarket subdivision. Not the typical place we would normally buy, but were were looking to buy something secure we could live in and store stuff whilst overseas. We got such a good price - P2700/m2, when they are selling them onsite for P4500/m2.
The prospects for the other property are even better. We understand that a private school developer is negotiating to buy a foreclosed lot on the highway near ours, so this should add to the value of this property, and step up the pace of local development. I have long believed this area would have a small shopping precinct, and I believe that the single entry/exit into Lipa City, which is congested now, will result in a diversion to take the pressure off the existing road.
The extension of the tollway is shown in red, my expected connectors are shown in green, and our hot spot is shown by the pink circle. There are a number of other attractive features. There is talk of the Fernando Air Base being used as a commercial freight facility. If this facility does indeed great converted into a commercial facility it will do a great deal for land values because the grounds of the Air Base are phenomenal. Nicest gardens around. This would make great facilities for high-end accommodation and/or restaurants. Its hard to envisage another shopping mall for another 10 years, but this also would be a good place for it. The Philippines population isa growing by 2% per annum, and given the rising industrialisation, more people are heading to commercial centres on the fringes of Manila. Manila is too congested. Filipinos care about their lifestyle more than anything else. Which is why call centres are being established in satellite cities like Lipa. The implication is that Lipa's incomes can be expected to grow quickly, as the population grows quickly. I don't even expect the recession to reduce remittances, nor do I expect much decline in call centre developments in the Philippines.

As I anticipated a year ago when I released the Philippines property report, the Philippines market is remaining one of the most prosperous places to invest. Given the Chinese-based heritage, I think you can expect a lot more Chinese investment in the nation as well. Japanese and Korean retirees will also feature. Where do you think these Korean and Chinese holidayers will retire as they age. Remember it is the old people with the money, the children want to live in the Philippines to learn English on the cheap, and to escape their discplinarian parents. The dynamics are on the wall. The Philippines will be the next tiger economy. Mind you the pickings are getting pretty slim. Pretty well every other economy has taken off. There are many other reasons why the Philippines is appealing. e.g. Its the only Asian country with generous visa conditions. You can stay in the Philippines for 18 months without leaving the country. That's just as a normal tourist, hence most people don't even bother with a retirement visa. For further information check out our 2-volume eBook set on Philippines property and receive a free list of Philippines bank foreclosed properties.

Andrew Sheldon
www.sheldonthinks.com

http://foreclosedjapan.sheldonthinks.com
http://nzproperty.sheldonthinks.com
http://philippinesrealestate.sheldonthinks.com

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Regional growth in the Philippines


Here are further signs that the Philippines economy are retaining their strength as we predicted in our property report. The implications for Philippines property are significant. It must be appreciated that call centres are emerging as a significant employer of Filipino labour in the country, as call centres around the world close in favour of Philippine operations. Well not close, so much as downsize, as there are significant constraints teaching a Filipino to speak like an Aussie or NZ, or how to spell Auckland. General knowledge was never a strong point for any country in Asia. English is a strong point for the Philippines, so expect this trend to continue. The lack of general knowledge is a cultural divide which will closely be closed. In the meantime there is still a huge market for call centres in the Philippines.
Most call centres are being established in Metro Manila, but slowly they are shifting out into regional satellite cities as well as other cities around the country. More call centres will be built in regional cities as communications infrastructure improves. The attraction is the cheaper labour in these regional areas. The cost of living is lower and staff are more loyal since there tends not to be so many competing call centres to poach your staff. People are more relaxed and lifestyle orientated, but that is an obstacle as well, as much it might help to retain staff.
The impact of call centres is readily apparent. You can imagine the impact on a small city to suddenly have a few call centres in an area. Each of these students is living at home, earning $400 per month, and they want to eat out and drink with friends. Whereas I used to eat at empty restaurants in Lipa City, now they can be full of young people. There is a Starbucks coming to Lipa City.....about a year after a number of smaller coffee shops sprang up. Likely some of these businesses will fail and become upmarket bars instead. The growth of such services will make these places more attractive to business executives wanting to relocate out of Metro Manila. The Southern Highway from Manila is currently being upgraded. Eton City is planned in between, which will be just a 1hour commute from Lipa City. There are already a number of high class golf-residential resorts in the Lipa City area. There is already 3 shopping malls - SM, Robinsons and Fiesta. The place is overrun by franchises, but expect more boutique-style businesses in future.
This is just one of the locations progressing in the Philippines.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
http://foreclosedjapan.sheldonthinks.com
http://nzproperty.sheldonthinks.com
http://philippinesrealestate.sheldonthinks.com

Sunday, September 6, 2009

New political stage should underpin Japanese reform

The problem in Japan is that a large group of old men associated with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have traditionally run the country. These men are often the descendants of former PMs. One need only reflect on the last 3 PMs of Japan – all of them were the descendants of previous leaders.
1. Shinzo Abe, the grandson of a former prime minister.
2. Yasuo Fukuda, the son of a former prime minister
3. Taro Aso, the grandson of a former prime minister.

Japanese people of course like to elect outspoken and ‘weird’ people whom they hope will break with the past. This has yet to occur. Yet on 30th August 2009 the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ousted the 54-year reign of the LDP which has ruled Japan since its formation in 1955 (aside from a 11-month hiatus in 1993). Under Japan's constitution, the DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama is assured to be the next Prime Minister of Japan. He will be formally appointed on 16th September 2009.

Many people will be hoping that new party leadership will mean change for Japan. That outcome seems improbable without good leadership. So what about Yukio Hatoyama - the leader of the DPJ? Well, he is unsurprisingly the grandson of a prime minister, who incidentally defeated Aso’s grandfather. Hatoyama might be considered a ‘pedigree politician’ with powerful family figures. His family is compared to the Kennedy’s in the USA. Hatoyama’s mother, Yasuko Hatoyama, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corporation. She was a big financial supporter when her sons established the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 1996.

Given their links to Japanese business it will be interesting to see whether ‘new’ money can out-manoeuvre the old zaibatsu conglomerates of the pre-WWII industrial era. Traditionally these corporations have had a strong influence on Japan, having a long association with the LDP. Another influential group is the civil service, though given their ‘safe’ positions, it seems probable that they will not disrupt reform if there is an agenda to do so, and that agenda has support.

The last time the DPJ had power was briefly in 1993. On that occasion, in the wake of the economic collapse, the fragile coalition of opposition parties were undermined and discredited by the LDP. That seems less likely on this occasion given the strength of the leader and the election result.

The DPJ's policies include plans to restructure the bureaucracy (expected to result in layoffs and pay-cuts); a monthly allowance for families with children, a reduction in petrol taxes; income support for farmers; free tuition for high school students; banning temporary work contracts in manufacturing; an increase in the minimum wage to Y1000; and no increase in the VAT sales tax until 2013.

The strength of the coalition seems assured for now since the other coalition parties won just 3 seats each compared to DPJ’s 221 seats. The People's New Party (PNP) comprises LDP members who opposed Koizumi’s autocratic style and post office privatisation, whilst the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is a socialist party which has witnessed a decline in support because of its support for North Korea. It can therefore be expected to be a weak party partner.

One might wonder whether the DPJ is the party to deliver economic prosperity to Japan given that it is considered the ‘Left of centre’ party in Japan. There is good reason to think that it will carry a reform agenda because the party was originally founded as a ‘centrist’ party. The move to the left prompted Yukio Hatoyama’s brother Kunio to leave the party. Yukio stayed with the party through several mergers with other opposition parties in 1998. He was DPJ Party Chairman and leader of the opposition (1999-2002), and DPJ Secretary-General before succeeding Ozawa as party leader on 16th May 2009. He was selected by fellow party members by a winning margin of 124 to 219 votes, defeating rival Katsuya Okada. Hatoyama has indicated that his wife Miyuki Hatoyama will play a prominent role as First Lady during his administration. This might suggest that he will attempt to gain broad-based people support as a means of driving political reform.

Katsuya Okada is another potential leader of the DPJ should Hatoyama fall from grace, as many Japanese leaders seem to do. He is the former president and current Secretary General of the DPJ, who will serve as Foreign Minister. He also has strong ties to business, being the second son of Takuya Okada, the founder of the Japanese retail giant AEON Group. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo (law) and Harvard University. His political roots lie with the Takeshita faction LDP, though in 1993 he followed LDP faction leaders Tsutomu Hata and Ichirō Ozawa to join the Japan Renewal Party. Eventually they amalgamated with the DPJ and Minseito in 1998. He became president of the DPJ on 18th May 2004.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com

Saturday, September 5, 2009

What happened to the Japanese property boom?

Where has the Japanese property market bull gone? This was the forecast 2 years ago by a Money Week writer. Well, markets are understandably hard to forecast. However the collapse in global financial markets was not hard to fathom given the legacy of fiscal and monetary stimulus over the last decade. The Japanese market was already in the midst of a recovery. It was merely curtailed by the current recession. The prospects for a property boom in Japan remain good, however the question is one of 'when' rather than 'if' I believe. There are a number of ducks which have to line up before we are likely to see a recovery in Japan's property market:
1. Reform-minded government able to deliver on productivity gains. This will likely take a charismatic leader since parliament is full of dead wood. The question of who is a plausible leader will be the subject of a later blog post.
2. Expansionist policy: Productivity gains will deliver the increases in real incomes which will stimulate spending and increases in property prices (as a demand response). In most cases governments are not satisfied with 'real income' gains, and are so inclined to artificially stimulate money supply through debt facilitation. Just as banks have been called upon for the last decade to curtail debt financing, in future they will be called upon to increase debt issuance.
3. Global recovery: A global recovery will result in a recovery in Japanese exports. Japan is well positioned to profit from exports to the USA, but also the Asian tigers and China.
4. Weaker Yen: Japan's national savings rate is gradually falling because of the legacy of decadence in wealthier Japanese youth, and also because of falling real incomes and reduced job opportunities. I am actually uncertain about whether the yen will depreciate. With interest rates so low, there is really only one way the Yen can go - UP! But relative yield is more important that absolute shifts, and loyal Japanese investors are reluctant to send savings abroad anyway. Low interest rates has the favourable benefit of discouraging Japan as a savings repository. Why hold yen given the low return on Japanese bonds? The only people silly enough to hold Yen are the Japanese savers - usually in the form of Japanese bonds. It is silly to hold bonds paying a 1% yield when you can buy foreclosed property in Japan and make 13% yield, and that is before you even consider debt financing for added leverage. If Japan can attract savings at 1%, clearly it does not need to rise much to attract savings. The reality however is that Japanese savers continue to be motivated by fear and nationalism rather than investment logic. The implication is that when foreign interest rates are increasing, Japan might not need to raise its rates as much. Afterall its intent has only been to subdue the currency. Is there a reason to change this policy? The time will come when the Japanese government does that. I think that policy is a decade off. What is worse - Japanese savers holding Japanese bonds yielding 1% or depreciating US bonds? I'd prefer to be a Chinaman saving an appreciating Yuan and a factory pumping out product. For this reason I am inclined to expect a weaker Yen for the next few years, though perhaps stability against the USD given its perturbed standing. I actually expect a rally in the USD in future because of rising interest rates. The US is down, but not out.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com

Major cities of Japan

資料:各都市の推計人口(ホームページ) Japan's major cities:
札幌市 Sapporo 仙台市 Sendai さいたま市 Saitama 千葉市 Chiba
東京都区部 Tokyo-23 横浜市 Yokohama 川崎市 Kawasaki 新潟市 Niigata 静岡市 Shizuoka 浜松市 Hamamatsu 名古屋市 Nagoya 京都市 Kyoto 大阪市 Osaka 堺市 Sakai 神戸市 Kobe 広島市 Hiroshima 北九州市 Kitakyushu 福岡市 Fukuoka

Cities and towns of Tokyo

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 千代田区 Chiyoda-ku 八王子市 Hachioji-shi 羽村市 Hamura-shi 中央区 Chuo-ku 立川市 Tachikawa-shi あきる野市 Akiruno-shi 港区 Minato-ku 武蔵野市 Musashino-shi 西東京市 Nishitokyo-shi 新宿区 Shinjuku-ku 三鷹市 Mitaka-shi 文京区 Bunkyo-ku 青梅市 Ome-shi 郡部 Towns and villages 台東区 Taito-ku 府中市 Fuchu-shi 瑞穂町 Mizuho-machi
墨田区 Sumida-ku 昭島市 Akishima-shi 日の出町 Hinode-machi 江東区 Koto-ku 調布市 Chofu-shi 檜原村 Hinohara-mura 品川区 Shinagawa-ku 町田市 Machida-shi 奥多摩町 Okutama-machi 目黒区 Meguro-ku 小金井市 Koganei-shi 大田区 Ota-ku 小平市 Kodaira-shi 島部 Islands 世田谷区 Setagaya-ku 日野市 Hino-shi 大島町 Oshima-machi 渋谷区 Shibuya-ku 東村山市 Higashimurayama-shi 利島村 Toshima-mura
中野区 Nakano-ku 国分寺市 Kokubunji-shi 新島村 Niijima-mura 杉並区 Suginami-ku 国立市 Kunitachi-shi 神津島村 Kouzushima-mura 豊島区 Toshima-ku 福生市 Fussa-shi 三宅村 Miyake-mura 北区 Kita-ku 狛江市 Komae-shi 御蔵島村 Mikurajima-mura 荒川区 Arakawa-ku 東大和市 Higashiyamato-shi 八丈町 Hachijo-machi 板橋区 Itabashi-ku 清瀬市 Kiyose-shi 青ケ島村 Aogashima-mura 練馬区 Nerima-ku 東久留米市 Higashikurume-shi 小笠原村 Ogasawara-mura 足立区 Adachi-ku 武蔵村山市 Musashimurayama-shi 葛飾区 Katsushika-ku 多摩市 Tama-shi 江戸川区 Edogawa-ku 稲城市 Inagi-shi

Cities & Towns of Saitama

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 西区 Nishi-ku 北区 Kita-ku 大宮区 Omiya-ku 見沼区 Minuma-ku 中央区 Chuo-ku 桜区 Sakura-ku 浦和区 Urawa-ku 南区 Minami-ku 緑区 Midori-ku Cities (-shi) さいたま市 Saitama-shi 川越市 Kawagoe-shi 熊谷市 Kumagaya-shi 川口市 Kawaguchi-shi 行田市 Gyoda-shi 秩父市 Chichibu-shi 所沢市 Tokorozawa-shi 飯能市 Hanno-shi 加須市 Kazo-shi 本庄市 Honjo-shi 東松山市 Higashi-Matsuyama-shi 岩槻市 Iwatski-shi 春日部市 Kasukabe-shi 狭山市 Sayama-shi 羽生市 Hanyu-shi 鴻巣市 Kounosu-shi 深谷市 Fukaya-shi 上尾市 Ageo-shi 草加市 Souka-shi 越谷市 Koshigaya-shi 蕨 市 Warabi-shi 戸田市 Toda-shi 入間市 Iruma-shi 鳩ケ谷市 Hatogaya-shi 朝霞市 Asaka-shi 志木市 Shiki-shi 和光市 Wako-shi 新座市 Niiza-shi 桶川市 Okegawa-shi 久喜市 Kuki-shi 北本市 Kitamoto-shi 八潮市 Yasio-shi 富士見市 Fujimi-shi 上福岡市 Kami-fukuoka-shi 三郷市 Misato-shi 蓮田市 Hasuda-shi 坂戸市 Sakado-shi 幸手市 Satte-shi 鶴ケ島市 Tsurogashima-shi 日高市 Hidaka-shi 吉川市 Yoshikawa-shi 北足立郡 Districts (-gun) 伊奈町 Ina-machi or ko 吹上町 Fukiage-machi 大井町 Oi-machi 三芳町 Miyoshi-machi 毛呂山町 Moroyama-machi 越生町 Ogose-machi 名栗村 Naguri-mura

Cities &Towns of Kanagawa

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 県計 市部計 郡部計 横浜市 鶴見区 神奈川区 西区 中区 南区 港南区 保土ヶ谷区 旭区 磯子区 金沢区 港北区 緑区 青葉区 都筑区 戸塚区 栄区 泉区 瀬谷区 川崎市 川崎区 幸区 中原区 高津区 宮前区 多摩区 麻生区 横須賀市 平塚市 鎌倉市 藤沢市 小田原市 茅ヶ崎市 逗子市 相模原市 三浦市 秦野市 厚木市 大和市 伊勢原市 海老名市 座間市 南足柄市 綾瀬市 三浦郡葉山町 高座郡寒川町 中郡 大磯町 二宮町 足柄上郡 中井町 大井町 松田町 山北町 開成町 足柄下郡 箱根町 真鶴町 湯河原町 愛甲郡 愛川町 清川村

Cities & Towns of Chiba

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 県計 市計 郡計 千葉市 中央区 花見川区 稲毛区 若葉区 緑区 美浜区 銚子市 市川市 船橋市 館山市 木更津市 松戸市 野田市 佐原市 茂原市 成田市 佐倉市 東金市 八日市場市 旭市 習志野市 柏市 勝浦市 市原市 流山市 八千代市 我孫子市 鴨川市 鎌ヶ谷市 君津市 富津市 浦安市 四街道市 袖ケ浦市 八街市 印西市 白井市 富里市

Cities & Towns of Osaka

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 総 数 府 保 健 所 計 池 田 池田市 豊能町  箕面市  能勢町  豊中豊中市  吹 田 吹田市 茨木摂津市  茨木市 島本町 枚方枚方市  寝屋川 寝屋川市 守口 守口市  門真市 四條畷 四條畷市 交野市  大東市 八 尾 八尾市  柏原市  藤井寺 松原市  羽曳野市 藤井寺市 富田林 大阪狭山市 富田林市 河内長野市 河南町  太子町  千早赤阪村 和泉和泉市  泉大津市 高石市  忠岡町  岸和田 岸和田市 貝塚市  泉佐野 泉佐野市 熊取町 田尻町  泉南市  阪南市  岬町 大 阪 市 堺市 高槻市 東大阪市  

Cities & Towns of Hiroshima

競売物件購入 keibai buttsuken kounyu 県計 広島市 広島市中区 広島市東区 広島市南区 広島市西区 広島市安佐南区 広島市安佐北区 広島市安芸区 広島市佐伯区 呉市 竹原市 三原市 尾道市 福山市 府中市 三次市 庄原市 大竹市 東広島市 廿日市市 安芸高田市 江田島市 府中町 海田町 熊野町 坂町 安芸太田町 北広島町 大崎上島町 世羅町 神石高原町