New reporting requirement to boost transparency in Japan's property market
In an attempt to improve transparency and encourage more circulation in the resale or 'second-hand' real estate market in Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) plans to introduce several new measures including enforcing status checks on listings, and encouraging building inspections.
Japan’s real estate market is decades behind other foreign markets in terms of the resale market, and also falls far behind in terms of disclosure laws and ethics. This may partially explain why the sale of second-hand properties accounts for just 10% of all home sales in Japan, while the resale market in the US and UK can account for as much as 90% of transactions.Read more