Japan's property market shows signs of overheating, central bank says

Oct 21, 2023 | News On Japan

Oct 21, 2023 (kitco.com) - Japan's property market is showing signs of overheating because of an inflow of foreign money and growing investments by major real estate developers, the central bank warned on Friday.

The findings come as the bank kept interest rates ultra-low for decades to reflate a fragile economy and prop up inflation, prompting warnings from some analysts that its massive money printing was sowing the seeds of a future asset bubble.

Real estate-related loans have kept growing, mainly to fund demand by foreign investors, the Bank of Japan said in a quarterly report on the financial system.

In a heat map of economy sectors which are running hot, the ratio of investment by real estate firms to gross domestic product (GDP) turned "red", a signal that the property market was overheating, the central bank said. ...continue reading

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