Real estate investors from Japan have taken interest on New York City property again after suffering major losses in the '90s.
Another proof that New York real estate is in high demand is the re-entry of Japanese investors. According to The Wall Street Journal, among the many foreign investors in U.S. real estate in 1990s, companies and investment groups from the Land of the Rising Sun were among the select few that suffered huge losses. Many of them invested heavily in properties like the Rockefeller Center and the Pebble Beach Golf Course in a buying spree that began in the 1980s until the market crashed in the '90s. This prompted a hasty exit for the majority of them.
In the same report by The Wall Street Journal, it seems that Japanese real estate companies are ready to start over again. It has been reported that in the last year alone, there has been $1.5 billion worth of property purchased in New York City. Okada & Co. president Christopher Okada said only three years ago the presence of Japanese investors in the city was almost non-existent. He added, "For over 20 years, there was nothing happening in the New York market. Now, we're seeing strictly Japanese real-estate companies enter the market, and they're diversifying."
Meanwhile, The Real Deal reported that the crash of the 1990s dubbed "The Lost Decade" heavily affected Japanese investment like Mitsubishi Estate Co. which had a major stake in the Rockefeller Center. The company filed for bankruptcy and turned over the property to lenders in 1995. But Mitsubishi remained entrenched in the city and its subsidiary, Rockefeller Group, is reportedly making plans to invest in projects in New York and New Jersey. With new investor companies coming in, Japan is now the fourth biggest investor in Manhattan for 2015.
