Updated
Updated · The Japan Times · May 18Japan Real Estate Lending Hits Record ¥17.8 Trillion in 2025 as Urban Property Prices Rise
3 articles · Updated · The Japan Times · May 18
- New lending to Japan’s real estate sector rose 15.1% in 2025 to a record ¥17.8 trillion, extending a surge in bank exposure to property.
- Urban price gains drove the increase, pushing not only major banks but also regional lenders to expand their real estate loan books.
- The 2025 total stands about 70% above the 1989 bubble-era peak of ¥10.4 trillion, underscoring how far property financing has climbed.
- Financial authorities are closely watching the market amid concern that a sharp drop in real estate prices could leave banks with bad loans.
Is Japan's record real estate lending a dangerous echo of its 1990s bubble, or is this time different? As the Bank of Japan ends cheap money, can Tokyo's property market avoid the crash that followed its last boom?