Transcript
Speaker: You have to love Japan, first of all, right? Because you're gonna be spending a lot of money. Like you're still buying a house, it's a huge investment, right? And many of them, they're not gonna be living here. So that means they're gonna be staying here maybe like three to four months out of the year.
Speaker: And they might not be able to Airbnb, so it's like, it's really for them. So that's number one. And number two, you have to have a very strong why outside of loving Japan. How are gonna use it?
Speaker: What is it gonna be for?
Speaker: Welcome back, everybody, to another exciting episode of Buying a House in Japan. I'm your host, Joey, joined by my co-host, Take. Take, where are we today? We are in Japan. Tama Basecamp. Let's go.
Speaker: Good to have the roadcaster back. Today we have two special guests, two legends, titans of the Japan real estate industry. We're joined by Shu Matsuo and Brett Lee.
Speaker: Shu Matsuo has a very popular Instagram account, YouTube account. He's been investing in real estate for many years now. Brett Lee is a software engineer. He's created several businesses in the United States and now he's turning his attention to the Akia market in Japan.
Speaker: Welcome to both of you. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thanks for having us. The most exciting news, you guys just started a new company, right? Yeah, yeah. We actually just launched Akiahub this week. This week went live.
Speaker: Could you give us like a 30-second pitch? Yeah, we want to be the front door for everything Akia related, right? There's a lot of different players in the space. There's a lot of information out there. And as someone who literally went through it in the past year, it's hard to navigate all of that information.
Speaker: And it's changing. There's a lot of new laws around Akia. There's a lot of new laws around businesses and startups in Japan, all in a positive way. But we want to really be the front door to let everyone come in and help them navigate that journey.
Speaker: As they're navigating it, meet people. There's so many people in the community already. We've been live for a week. think we have over a thousand people in the community. People are very interested in in doing this. And it feels so much better when you can talk to other people that are wanting to do it, people that are doing it, and people that have done it. I've been looking a lot of Facebook groups. I think they're a little toxic sometimes. Oh, yeah. People are very defensive. I think you guys are doing something great with Akihab where you're centralizing that information. Like people go on the Facebook groups and it's just, I don't know, it's weird. Like weird information, people like saying don't come in. Yeah, gatekeeping. Oh yeah. any Anytime you have, and this is true of any community, any topic, right? If you go to the YouTube comments on a chef's video, you're going to have that, right? it's It's in all of them.
Speaker: Anyone that's been online long enough knows that's just how the anonymous online people are. I was trying to join those Facebook groups. I was trying to learn. People are, it's just, they're not friendly. like but They don't want to. And the people that do know stuff, they don't want other people to know stuff because they're trying to get ahead themselves.
Speaker: yeah So making that space that someone can come in and everyone has the same mindset. They want to learn about this. They've done it. They want to help other people. That's, it's huge for us. I think that's going to be the most valuable thing that we do this year.
Speaker: So that's a huge part of it. And then in that journey, there's so many things that I had hiccups or stuff that was like difficult where I was like, let's build tools for that. Like, oh, how do I calculate the actual price of this house?
Speaker: Because there's 100 different fees and and different things that might be there. Let's build a calculator for that. A visa wizard. What type of visa even makes sense? I want to live here long term or maybe I want a vacation here. What can I do?
Speaker: We have a whole wizard on how to find the right visa. There's a lot of things like that. A lot of guides. My wife has done a lot of the work to document every single step of the journey from when we first thought about moving to Japan to everything that comes after that.
Speaker: So we have over 100 guides that are like 10, 15 pages long with detailed descriptions, diagrams of here's how to do it. Like here's how not to do it too, because we definitely did it the wrong way. Shoot, over to you here. How long have you been in the Akia game?
Speaker: so I bought my first property in the US in... 2017, 2018. And i kept buying. And until 2022, I owned seven properties, like multifamily. okay And I thought that was my path. And when I first started my YouTube channel in late 2022, my catchphrase was, I'm Japanese.
Speaker: I live in Japan, but I don't invest in Japanese real estate. And no one cared. There are so many influencers who talk about US real estate. And one day I started to talk about Japanese real estate.
Speaker: because I got real intrigued about the Akia phenomenon. And then one video took off and I was like, oh, people are interested. Maybe I'll do more of these. That kind of grew my YouTube channel and people started to reach out to me and i interviewed those people and I learned a lot. And I was like, maybe I'm doing this all wrong.
Speaker: Maybe I'll start buying Akia and see what happens. And that's what I did. And just like you guys, I think you bought your first house in 2023, like late. yeah Yeah. So that's when I bought my first house.
Speaker: And... Now I have five houses under my belt and I'm under contract with another one. I'm actually closing next week. Congrats. You got a lot of houses there. Oh, thanks. Yeah. Just trying to keep up with you guys. Okay. It's a competition. I like that you changed your opinion on homes in Japan. You know, it's not something a lot of people can admit to like, oh, changed my mind on this. Yeah.
Speaker: Like I did a sharp 180, but I'm happy I did it because it makes sense for me now because I live here. i speak the language. I do understand real estate. I'm learning every single day.
Speaker: There are people that are doing really well in the Japanese real estate market. And I feel like being here and being able to talk to these people, like I have an advantage over trying to invest in the U.S. remotely, right?
Speaker: That's like my new thesis and I'm going all in. Did your thesis change with investment in general from U.S. properties to Japanese ones? Because I know a lot of people in the States think I just want the house to go up in value. Yeah. Investing in Akia, it's more of a cash flow game, wherein if you invest in the U.S. like North America, it's more of an appreciation play.
Speaker: Yeah. So if you can't afford that game, that's great because that builds wealth so much quicker. Net worth, right? But if you want cash flow, if you want cash coming into you, you probably want to play the cash flow game. And Japan provides that cash flow game. And it's good for some people, might not be right for others.
Speaker: But for me, this is super exciting. And I just want to keep playing this game. Where are your properties in the US? I have four properties in Minnesota, where my wife is from. like So that's the biggest portfolio. I have one property in upstate New York.
Speaker: Oh, wow. And one in Florida, actually, north of Tampa. How do those two compare from a cash I know comparing apples to oranges a little bit, but how do you feel about both assets there? Out of six properties, I only own one free and clear. So that one's doing like really good. That's a big thing. big delay But others, mortgages, right? So I have bills to pay every month on good months doing really well.
Speaker: But when something happens, so I'm actually going through a really tough time with Florida property. Like I had to evict a tenant who made absolute mess, basically wiped out the entire cash flow for the entire year for my whole portfolio.
Speaker: But in Japan, all the houses that I bought cash, so it's you know free and clear. ah Three are rented, two are being renovated. a lot of people say like, you're Japanese, you should qualify for loans.
Speaker: But I sleep better at night buying money. cash, to be honest with you. So cash flow coming in don't have to worry about mortgages, too many expenses. It's been great. I've been working on my thesis for me also getting into buying more Akia, not just for myself, but for building a portfolio. And I think that's one of the biggest things that is different than the way that I looked at real estate in the States.
Speaker: It's not just that you're not leveraged as much, you're buying properties in cash. Time to cash flow is way faster because you're immediately, you already own the property, right? You're immediately just racking up more money. But the amount of properties you can buy in succession to build the portfolio is so much faster here as well. Like you can get five or six properties versus one in the States. One in the States, you're probably going to get a mortgage on and you're probably not going to see real returns for 20 years.
Speaker: I also heard something that like a lot of appliances don't come with the homes in Japan as well. Is that true? Yeah, it's it's true. When you rent, it's renter's responsibility to bring ah fridge, microwave, appliance, everything. Stove?
Speaker: Stove, yeah, even units. So landlords, the rents might be a lower, but the liabilities are smaller as well. Do you guys think tenants are better here that you you're having a problem with the Florida man right now? Like, are tenants in Japan better?
Speaker: Can you relax a little bit more? From my personal experience? Yes. Yeah. Just like small multifamily and single family homes, like little bit different, right? So like multifamily, especially in the US, like it's a lot more...
Speaker: high maintenance. So like expenses are higher in my personal experience. Here, single family houses, people are proud to to be living. So they take better care in general of the houses. So expenses are much lower, partially because they take really good care of and they just pay on time.
Speaker: That's been my experience. Something that, sure, you mentioned that that resonated, I know when I talked to Brett is like all in. Brett, I know something you had mentioned before is you've sold everything in Florida. Can you tell us a little bit about that? How how How did that happen? Yeah, yeah. know I have to give credit to my wife for letting me go all in on this stuff. It was a really big decision. But if you take a half measure, if you just dip your toe in, um it's not going to be successful. I've failed as many businesses as I have succeeded.
Speaker: And I know all the failures stemmed from trying to play it safe and not go all in on something. So when it came to this, something as big as moving across the planet, selling everything I own, going all in on not just...
Speaker: country, but a new business, new partnerships, new everything. I knew that if I didn't do it that way, then the biggest decision, it wouldn't work. What was your experience with Japan up until that point? Like when you decided to go on? in I spent two months in Japan already, but I grew up in the 90s.
Speaker: So everything from my childhood was Japanese based, like all the stuff we watch on TV, the Pokemon, and po yeah like the food, everything was Japanese based. So I've always had an eye for Japan.
Speaker: And when I finally got to come here, I was like, my dreams are going to just be shattered, right? Like it's never going to live up to this. me don't meet yeah no hero And the first time I came, I spent a month in Japan for the first trip because I was like, I'm really going to figure out what I had wrong.
Speaker: And it was just better. It was better than I even thought it was. And I wasn't prepared for that. So that really like literally that trip, by the time I left that trip, I'd already started making plans like, okay, what can we do here? Because for the longest time, I didn't think of Japan as an option because of the business environment. Like for me, someone who's an entrepreneur who starts companies that builds things, I was like, it's just not the most friendly environment to do that. It's so bureaucratic, especially for outsiders coming in to try to get into it. But when I came here last time, I started talking to some people and then seeing some other entrepreneurs in the space. I was like, okay,
Speaker: It's different. It's changed in the past like five years, it seems. It's crazy. We can do a full like series on like struggles in Japan and making a business as a foreigner. So well yeah what was the spark? Like the straw on the camel's back that was like, all right, let's fucking do this.
Speaker: i'm I'm turning 34. And I wanted to make sure I did it while I could fully enjoy Japan and and everything. And it's also had a lot to do with what was going on in my life in the States, what I was doing, the businesses that I run and operate and where they were in their space. If I tried to do this five years ago, I literally could. I couldn't do it where where my businesses were and what I was working on.
Speaker: But I was at the perfect time where I was like, this is it's now or never. I either do it now or I will never get this opportunity. So how did your wife react to that? What was the conversation like, hey, babe, let's sell everything and go to Japan? So the first trip to Japan, i bought tickets seven days before we left.
Speaker: So it was very impromptu where I was like, we're doing it. like We've been wanting to do this for so long. We both have careers where we're very focused on work. And I was like, we need a break. Let's just do it. We're going to do a month just...
Speaker: Go get your PTO. Let's go. After that, she was on the same page that I was like, it's better than we even thought it was. Holy crap, it'll get worse. And then then the next night, we're like, today was better yesterday. And then that went on for a month. And we're like, okay, that was that's it. Let's do it.
Speaker: Amazing. I'm still working on my fiance to move to Japan. So she's listening this. Shoot, I guess flipping it back to you. I know you spent time the States. And then what brought you back to Japan? Yeah. So I'm originally from Japan. I was born and raised in Kanagawa and I moved to the U.S. for high school and college.
Speaker: And back then, i that's all I wanted to be. I wanted to be as American as possible. I and didn't want to come back, right? But I was so miserable at my first job out of college in New York. And I was like, has to be better than this.
Speaker: And I started looking for it jobs and I got a job with an American company. But the condition was I had to move back to Tokyo. So I took the job and moved back to Tokyo. And i was here for two and a half years and enjoyed it. Had a reverse culture shock, spending eight, nine years in the U.S., some of the most important years of your life. Part of me felt like American and you I lost a little bit of Japanese-ness.
Speaker: So I was like, man, this is, I don't know if I can handle this. So I wanted to get out of Japan again. And I got an opportunity to move to Hong Kong. So I was in Hong Kong for five, little over five years. And that's where I met my wife actually halfway in.
Speaker: And she's an international school teacher. teaching in Hong Kong. And one day she told me, hey, like this job opened up in Japan, Yokohama. I think I'm going to apply.
Speaker: and I was like, wait, if you get this, going to have to take it. And she's like, yeah. So I don't know if I want moved back to japan i told her but so you were the one resisting that Yeah, yeah. So a lot of people think, oh you got married and that's why you moved back to Japan. it was the opposite. I didn't want to leave Hong Kong back then.
Speaker: But in hindsight, I'm glad that we did the move because initially we were probably going to be here for like two, three years. And now we've been here for seven and a half years and we're going to be here long term.
Speaker: Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. It's interesting. Our Akihabara data shows like our most active customers are like 35 to 40 males. And it's, I think this is, as we've done a lot of consults, usually talking us talking to dudes or trying to convince their partner to move to Japan.
Speaker: ah But it's really interesting. Both your guys, your your partners are so supportive in your case. You're the supportive one who's coming back to Japan. I guess I should write a guide on this. Put it on Akihabara. Like, here's how to convince your wife. How to convince your wife to move to Japan.
Speaker: Sometimes we'll speak to clients and one of them is very gung ho and then everything that they say to other partners like him and Han a little bit. This is just specific to my wife because she's ah financial analyst, FP&A manager type, so she really loves numbers.
Speaker: I had her do the numbers on our life like in detail. This is what our life looks like right now in numbers. yeah Now let me just give a very conservative like top price for everything and this is what our life would look like in Japan in the numbers.
Speaker: justify this, right? Justify keeping these numbers versus those numbers. Even if it goes wrong, we can come back to this. But if it goes right, look at this. This is pulling retirement 20 years earlier. It's crazy.
Speaker: Absolutely. It feels like in the US, it's like we're frogs being boiled alive a little bit with inflation and the cost of living. So true. she Something I think I really like that you post is you do a lot of cost comparisons of like how much in Japan versus the US s like That series went viral and I did it with like many different countries. Right.
Speaker: And after that, oh man, I ran out of countries. Maybe I'll do cities in the U S or like States or something. And I did that for while and i had a good run. Maybe I'll bring it back um one day, but um I enjoyed it because I, that really made me realize, oh my gosh, like it's,
Speaker: really cheap in japan especially with the current currency exchange one of the things would be cool to see is do the same city same country but do 2020 versus 2025 or something like that like how much money would you have saved if you did this before yeah i'll do it now that's a good one all right new idea cumulative inflation for instance from 2021 till now in the us is like or something yeah which is like it's hot bonkers. We save so much money being here comparatively. like I'm a slave to my mortgage in California, unfortunately, but we own this house we're sitting in. It just feels like so good. We own this. I could punch a hole in wall and nothing's going happen.
Speaker: We're going to take a quick break to say, if you're considering buying property in Japan, first off, more power to you. We made our first purchase in 2023 and couldn't be happier, but it wasn't without struggles. One of them being Japanese real estate websites. Even with Google Translate, navigating these sites is quite a pain. I kept asking Take, why isn't there a Zillow or Redfin of Japan?
Speaker: So we built one. Akiya Mart lets you browse over a million Japanese real estate listings. It's English friendly, which is great for people like us, and has a simple design with tons of free features. Head to akiya-mart.com, that's A-K-I-Y-A dash M-A-R-T, to view thousands of properties for free. Or if that's not enough, we got a monthly and annual plans with more advanced filters and access to higher value properties.
Speaker: Buying a house in Japan is actually easier than it sounds, and Akiya Mart is the place to start.
Speaker: Who do you think is the right kind of person to embark on this adventure of buying a house in Japan? For me, and I've talked to hundreds of people in general, there are two things. You have to love Japan, first of all, right? Because you're going to be spending a lot of money. Like you're still buying a house. It's a huge investment, right?
Speaker: And many of them, they're not going to be living here. So that means they're going to be staying here maybe like three to four months out of the year. And they might not be able to Airbnb. So it's like, it's really for them.
Speaker: So that's number one, you have to really love Japan. And number two, I think you have to have a very strong why outside of loving Japan, how are going to use it? What is it going to be for?
Speaker: If it's for vacation home, is it going to be the base for you to travel to different locations and all that stuff? So I think those two things, especially for a vacation home, you have to have rental side. That's a very different story.
Speaker: So if you're looking for, like I said earlier, something like cash flow, I think Japan might be a really good market to get into. Prices are increasing. So there there will be some appreciation, especially around this area, like greater Tokyo and big cities in Japan. Most of the times it's people from North America where they prices are so expensive, yeah real estate prices, so that they can't, they just can't afford to buy a home.
Speaker: And it's really attractive for those people, even though the return might be pretty decent, nothing like crazy, but that still can be very attractive to those people. We do this webinar every other week and ask Joey that question, like, who's the right person? He says something very similar.
Speaker: What we try to do is we have to say like, you need to love Japan, but also you need to acknowledge that these are depreciating assets. It's a very different market. I feel like people still don't comprehend that sometimes where we almost have to like anti-sell them. Like, hey, this is not the right fit for you. And they need to come back to us and be like, we understand education is like nine tenths of what it is that we have to do for everyone that we talk to because it's particularly North America.
Speaker: The mindset of you buy a house and it goes up in value and that's how you get wealth is just so ingrained in everything. As a kid, you're just like, oh I'm going to grow up and buy a house and do this. So educating them on that. And then particularly Japan, it's so different where the houses are so affordable that it's not just, oh, you buy a house. It's what's a portfolio.
Speaker: Yeah. Because you should be building one. You can get five houses for you're actually You get like 10 houses now for the price of a house in America. It's crazy. Shoot, if Joey and I are starting over again, we want cash flow. We're very focused on that. We want to be in Japan. What tips do you have for us?
Speaker: What would you look at assets or locations, things like that? Honestly, listening to your stories, you guys doing like really sexy stuff, which is really cool. Sexy but not making money. Sexy but broke. I only do long-term rentals right now.
Speaker: And people come to me wanting to do short-term rentals, which you are about to do. Mid-term rental too, right? Can't say I've done those two things yet. But if you want something steady, long-term rentals, once you get places with tenants, it's pretty passive, right? Which is the game that I know and what I love.
Speaker: So I recommend that. Okay. But if you want to get your hands dirty doing some operations and for potential high returns, I think midterm rentals, short term rentals would be great.
Speaker: I'm just not quite there yet. But I think kind picking your focus. Lack of focus. Do different things and figure out what you want to focus on. I would say that would be my advice right now. I think one thing is you guys didn't choose to play on easy mode, right? You definitely chose, let's go hard mode. Let's go to the properties we like and all these areas that we like, right? And and they're awesome properties, which you're getting to learn so much more than the average investor would because the basic thing for an average investor to do is I'm going to go not try to get the highest highest ah ROI.
Speaker: I'm going get the easy property, the one that's in the most sought after area. It's going to be my first property. So I want it to be easy. turnkey, they're not looking to make a lot of money, they're looking to learn. You guys got to learn in five different areas, right? That's huge. It's gonna come back later, right? Like in a year from now, you're gonna be like, oh, nobody knows about these areas. Nobody knows about these types of- We've been hiding behind that a little bit. We've been saying oh, we're doing this for the experience. Customer customer zero. yeah Yeah, when the numbers don't make sense, we're like, it's the experience gain we're going for here.
Speaker: I learned more from my failures than my successes. Yeah. So we got a lot. We got a lot of failures. jerry Here we go. But hopefully, yeah, we we do feel optimistic that the stuff we're learning is hard mode, as you mentioned. Shoot, for someone who wants to go easy mode, though, location wise, what areas are you bullish on? Sounds like Greater Tokyo is one of them. Any other geo locations that you recommend people look at?
Speaker: Yeah, so I've been focusing on greater Tokyo. So we call it in Japanese, we say itto sanke. So itto means Tokyo. Sanke means three prefectures. So Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa.
Speaker: So as you know, Tokyo is very popular. People are still moving in. Like last year, I think they're, I can't remember the numbers, but so many people moved into Tokyo. and the the real estate prices continue to increase.
Speaker: And then some people cannot afford to live in Tokyo. So they go outside of Tokyo, right? And those are the people that I like to target because if you go even like 60 minutes outside of central Tokyo, the prices of real estate are so much cheaper, but you can still charge relatively good rent.
Speaker: So that's like the good balance. So I would say between 45 minutes to like 90 minutes, Outside of Tokyo area, maybe Western Tokyo, it's like outside of Osaka or something, but I'm going to specifically say Tokyo because that's what I area that I know.
Speaker: And yeah, if you, as long as you buy something in the popular area, her population is like slightly increasing or even flat. I think you're going have a really good chance finding good tenant demand for it. I think the biggest trend we're seeing is Miyoko. A lot of people interested in ski resort areas in Japan.
Speaker: Niseko priced out, Hakuba priced out. Miyoko seems to be the next one. I feel like we talked to two or three people a week interested in Miyoko. So I do think ah appreciation wise, like probably the only places in Japan appreciating are some areas of Tokyo metropolitan and then ski resort areas in Japan.
Speaker: agree with you. Someone who's looking at this kind of space, looking to get ah ah ROI, how much money should they be prepared to spend? I like to say the sweet spot is 10 million yen, which is what is it like 67K US, right? Something like that.
Speaker: Because if you spend a lot more than that, like if you spend more than 15 million, that doesn't guarantee higher, like much higher rent. So to spendt by spending more, because it doesn't guarantee that much higher rent.
Speaker: But if you go like too low, unless you're getting such a great deal, like you guys are, and then getting so much better rent, it takes a lot more work to get to whatever the f FI number you want to call it. So sweet spot is like 10 million and try to get 100,000 yen per month.
Speaker: So that's like the 1% rule or 12% gross yield. I heard from Ziv once that Japanese tenants expect a light renovation before they move in. Are you factoring in like a light renovation as well into the $67,000 or is that going be on top? Yeah. So that's all like the initial capital invested, including the closing costs, the judicial screener fee, everything, including the renovation.
Speaker: Okay, so money aside, don't care about returns. Where in Japan would you like a vacation home? That's a good question. Can I name a few? Three. Okay, one would be Karizawa. Ooh, hot area. Love, love Karizawa. It's close enough to Tokyo. It's super easy to get to.
Speaker: Gets ton of snow and just love the vibe, like the nature. yeah i would love something down in Shimoda. yeah i like I used to surf down there when i was in high school.
Speaker: Oh, did you? Nice. And probably one in Kyushu as well. I don't know where, but... like have some Get that booth shot. On sand. Okay. okay Personally, if I was going to buy a vacation home, right now, the thing I'm missing the most about where I came from, so I'm from Florida, the water.
Speaker: There's just I'm used to being on the beach and around the water and boats and everything. And it's just ah something I grew up with. So looking for a house that maybe has a boat slip or something on the water, maybe and on an island.
Speaker: Don't even have any specific areas. Just want to be near the water. And then i really like what I'm seeing about Fukuoka. And I think I want to get a spot over there to have a little base on that side of Japan.
Speaker: That seems like to be a good startup hub. We've been hearing a lot of tech presence down there. And it seems like Fukuoka is on the rise. I was living in Tokyo from like 2007 to 2011. Reminds me of like Tokyo back then. Like I just feel like there's 10x the amount of people in Tokyo compared to that time that I spent there. And Fukuoka reminded me a lot of that. So I really like the city. Yeah, I hear i heard that from a couple of different people. So I want to travel there this year.
Speaker: In this room, we've talked to so many people who want to buy Akiya's. If you were to give someone who's just starting to look at the Akiya purchase process, they know they want to be in Japan, what would be your top tips for that person? I'll start. Shu.
Speaker: First, you have to have the money. And what I like to say is if you can't buy twice, don't buy once. So if this is like going to break you, don't buy That's not a good move because things can go wrong.
Speaker: That's like the mindset you need to have. We we talked to a couple people who were like, I'm going to get a loan to help pay for your service fee. and we're like, oh, you don't have this is a problem, buddy. Okay. So yeah i totally agree with you. Got to have the capital.
Speaker: And plus, how much extra buffer do you think people should have prepared for the transaction and just getting foot in the door in their house? If it's 40 grand, I think it's going to probably cost around like 50 grand.
Speaker: But I don't think that's enough. Like I said, you want to probably have double, right? Just to be safe so that you have lots of room to play with. So that's my room though. I think it is a ah really good idea because like Taki said, sometimes we'll go down the path speaking to a client. They want to buy this $3,000 house, but they need to take out a loan for that. And like it's just, there's going to be a lot of more expenses. like Yeah, we can help you buy this house, but it's not going to be just for $3,000.
Speaker: Yeah, I build on that. So not only do you need to have the capital, but don't even go online and search until you know that you're ready to do it right now. If you find a house, you should be able to make a call, buy that house tomorrow if you had to.
Speaker: Because if you start looking at houses and you save some, you're like, oh, i love it. They go away fast, especially the good ones. So if you're not actually ready to buy a house, you're not ready to buy a house, right? People that I talk to, and one of the questions that I ask at the end,
Speaker: Hey, if we help you, would it be an issue if if you close on the house in the next 90 days? And if they say like, I don't think I'm ready. Okay, we can't work with them. That's a good question. yeah I think our average is shorter than 90 days. So we want to help people that are just ready to go because deals move pretty quickly. So you want to be ready to make an offer whenever.
Speaker: I remember filling out your form and I really like, yeah, you have some very specific income related questions. and I think that really helps. It's actually something that we we put in to even sign up for Akihub. You have to answer those questions so that we know that ah ah someone's thought about it, right? Because you maybe you're just like, houses are great. Look at all these great prices. I just want to learn more.
Speaker: But you're not really ready for the level of commitment that it takes. And whenever you're asked, hey, what's your budget? That makes you think a little bit. All right, Joey, what's your tip? It becomes more important, like I feel like the more rural you're getting. But Taka and I started working with our friend Fumi in Beppu, who is just a person on the ground that we met through a friend of a friend kind of situation.
Speaker: And while we're not there, she can help drive certain things forward. So she's talking to our contractor or she's getting a quote for double pane the windows or any sort of random task. things flow much more quickly when you have a Japanese national helping you out with my Japanese isn't the greatest. So like speaking to a contractor, but also the other thing that we realized is while we're not in Japan, these projects are still moving forward because we can get Fumi to help us out with a certain thing while we're not there. So I do tell people like find somebody on the ground. we pay Fumi what what we think is like a good hourly wage and she's happy ah with it. We're happy with it. And almost in in invaluable to have somebody on the ground like that.
Speaker: totally agree. And guess my tip is like lot of people will try to over-prepare and like plan every single step and expect it to go so smoothly. and And you can expect Japan's trains are on time, things like that, but...
Speaker: it will never go as smooth as you think it will. We just had a customer yesterday who was like, just rocked up. He's like, all my furniture got canceled last second by Doc 10. And we deal with so many personalities that like to plan, but it's just impossible to plan for a lot of these unknowns. So you need to be ready to roll with the punches.
Speaker: All right, next, I want to talk about trends. We've both been in the space for about a year. And actually, we watched one of your videos recently where you talk about how things are changing. like What big trends do you see in the Akia space? What are you seeing from like a macro view as you talk to all these customers?
Speaker: A lot of people are looking into this area, actually, like Western what how many call them yeah like western Tokyo. It's a Tokyo metropolitan, right? okay But when a lot of people think about Tokyo, they think about the 23 Wars.
Speaker: So that's the like the major city part of Tokyo. But Tokyo has other cities, right? Like Tama City, Tachikawa, Tachioji. Yeah, still Tokyo and very accessible to city center, especially Western part of Central Tokyo, like Shinjuku and Shibuya.
Speaker: But properties are so much more affordable. A lot of people like that. And it's closer to the nature as well. Like Saibamihara, you can drive to like Fuji and all that stuff. And this is a beautiful house too. and We have a yard. like we are Yeah.
Speaker: So that's definitely one of the trends. Southern Saitama, also Chiba as well. I'd like to say Kanagawa because I'm based in Yokohama. It's always been like pretty popular. Like Saitama as well. a lot of people moving there. Very affordable. It's flat. So it's easy to get to places. Yesterday i was in Kawagoe in Fujimori City and things look so new. Like all the stations, amenities. You can tell that those areas are being rebuilt and a lot of people moving in.
Speaker: So I think it's a really good bet. The amount of foreigners interested in Akiya has felt like it's doubled. And that's part to your videos and bringing awareness. But like how many more people are looking for Akiya since we started this?
Speaker: I have noticed that prices are increasing, which I think is a good thing. ah Japanese real estate is going through a cycle and we're in a very different place compared to North America. There's still a ton of opportunities.
Speaker: There are 10 million Akiya. I like that people are paying more attention. I think it's good for Japan and it's good for the economy and it's more fun to meet people who are trying to do the same things.
Speaker: But yeah, competition is definitely increasing. One thing that I noticed from our first week, take that data with a grain of salt, but there's a lot more people that are Japanese that live outside of the country that because of Akia are looking to move back.
Speaker: So bringing people back into the country, I think it's good for Japan to see people that first of all, they've gone out and yeah know explored the world and then come back and bring some of that back. and bring an entrepreneurial spirit where they're wanting to invest in Aki or wanting to move back to their hometown that they left whenever they were younger. and they're like, ah actually, I love it. I miss it.
Speaker: From our data on Aki Amart, we're seeing like maybe the number two countries, Japan of our our traffic users. So yeah, a lot of People are just waking up to realize, hey, I can buy a property here, even though I've lived here, been in jet or whatever. yeahp It's quite interesting.
Speaker: I think you're spot on the numbers. It doubled in the past year since I was aware of ah the real size of the market. And since I've been looking at it, it's literally ah seems to be about double. I wouldn't be surprised if it doubles this year.
Speaker: So four times in the past two years. So that's huge. We get this question a lot like, hey, we know there's going be more Akias in the future. Should we wait later? Are the prices going to go down? like How do you respond to that question?
Speaker: They're not ready. Don't buy one now so that we can buy one. I don't really believe in like timing the market. yeah i agree with it's It's more about time in the market, right? So you want to get in and then, cause you learn so much after buying and starting this journey rather than trying to time the perfect, you know, whether it's the exchange rate or like the real estate market.
Speaker: That's how I like to play the game. So if you are saying like, hey, when is the good time? Yesterday. ah okay know ones that Yeah. If you are not ready now, just wait till you're ready. But I don't expect that things will be better in the future.
Speaker: I was actually just speaking with somebody from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government yesterday. and They were saying that the amount of visa applications is more than triple what they normally expected for this month.
Speaker: So it's taking longer to get through that visa process because so many people are doing it. so Timing wise, if you are looking at it, the sooner the better, right? the The sooner you can get in, you can start shopping around, you can look for properties, you can plan your visa strategy.
Speaker: Do it now because it's not going to be easier next year. It's not going to be easier the year after. Something Joey and I say to a lot of customers is you're not going to get an A plus deal your first stock yet. It just doesn't work that way. I feel like you got to get in and time and market is what you said. I think expect to get a B minus C plus deal. And then once you're on the ground, the flower opens up and you you see so much more and get the better deals like the $3,500 properties we've been getting. the Shu, as a Japanese national, I want to get your opinion. like How does the average Japanese person feel about all these foreigners are buying Nakias? Many people are very open to foreigners coming in.
Speaker: And I know this because I talk to like local people, especially when our clients purchase something and then we go say hello. Most people are very welcoming. So it becomes a problem when someone, especially someone from a foreign country, doesn't respect the culture and then think that their culture is better or whatever, and then try to do their own thing.
Speaker: That's when it becomes an issue. Those people make it to the news too. And then sometimes a lot of people think, oh, this is what all foreigners do, which is not true. I think most foreign people who want to make it in Japan,
Speaker: They respect the culture. i think a lot of people appreciate diversity and understanding, learning about different values. But you have to respect the culture here so that you can actually make peace with the locals.
Speaker: Japan's got its own share of problems. Obviously, the Akiyamondai is a really big problem. We get pretty often asked by some people like, hey, are you guys trying to solve the Akiyamondai? I think it's such a multifaceted kind of problem. But Shu, in your opinion, how do we solve this problem?
Speaker: The biggest cause of this is the rapidly declining population and the aging population, right? Has there been another example of a country in this state? Or is Japan the world first? Italy. Italy.
Speaker: And then i had a client who lives in Seoul, Korea. And if you look at the birth rate, Korea is way worse. so yeah Only like one out of, i don't know, one point something zero. Where in Japan is like still little bit higher, 1.3, 1.2, 1.3. People are not having kids as many as before. That's true.
Speaker: people are not having kids as as many as before that's true People are getting older and that's what's causing these Akiya issues for sure. And also like the property taxes, how they tax six times more for land without structure too. So that incentivizes people to not do anything to the Akiya because they don't want to pay extra taxes.
Speaker: But I think hopefully, you know, we educate some people, but I think it's really... bringing light to the renovation culture, to the locals, because that wasn't existent.
Speaker: A lot of Japanese people think if it's old, it's not good, right? The Japanese dream is demolish the house, build a new house and make it yours. Do it again in 30 years. Do it again in 30 years.
Speaker: And then real estate companies have brain flushed the entire population. That's the way it is because of the natural disasters. But I don't think that's true. Like, why does a house only last for 30 years? That's weird.
Speaker: So I think the renovation culture and then just making something that exists better and lasts longer, hopefully that'll start to change the culture a little bit. And then, and yeah, I think more people will come to Japan as well. There's a reason why it's a lot easier than many countries for foreigners to buy real estate in Japan. The government's not restricting it.
Speaker: They want people to do it. What about like the centralization in Tokyo? There's no jobs in the countryside. There's no job. Maybe some of the other major cities, there's jobs outside of Kyoto, Osaka, in Sapporo, Tokyo. There's no jobs. I do think part of solving the problem needs to be some sort of economic incentives for people to move to the countryside. That's absolutely true. I think Japan at one point was thinking about moving the capital to Sendai.
Speaker: And then that didn't work out because the political capital is in Tokyo. Like everything is in Tokyo. Right. And that's what attracts so many people. And yeah, to your point, I think it needs to be a little bit more decentralized. Japan is 10 years in the future where I think a lot of other places, including in the United States, are going to be with AI, with more automation. This is like the blueprint.
Speaker: So what happens when less people have jobs in Iowa? Like same type of thing is going to happen in those areas. Japan's kind of ahead of the curve, but I think the number one thing is just looking at it, exposure, letting people know this is the problem.
Speaker: So we can look at how can we solve it? A lot of people, particularly in the States, right? But people just don't know this is a phenomenon. They don't know that this is happening. And the government in Japan is doing everything they can to make it as easy as possible to get people to come in with solutions from within the country or outside.
Speaker: They're open to everyone to come in and help solve the problem. We drove through Shikoku recently and just town after town, lot of abandoned homes, abandoned department stores. You know, you don't feel optimistic when you're driving through those parts of Japan. Are those areas ever going to get revitalized? and It depends on the specific area. The thing that I think Shu alluded to, right, is the DIY culture.
Speaker: Our company name isn't Akiahub. It's Kintsuji Group. And Kintsuji, if you guys are familiar with the art of gold the the gold, the gold, or you have broken pottery and you put it back together with gold to take something that was broken and make it better than it was before. Renovation in general and craftsmanship is huge in the States and other countries. go on YouTube and look at how many successful craftsmanship type channels are from building a coffee table to a whole house. There's a lot of people that want to do that, but they don't have a canvas to do it.
Speaker: So maybe those areas, that becomes a canvas for those things. That's awesome that your company name is going for that mission here. We've had a great time chatting with you guys. Where can people find more about you? Shu, I know everyone knows where to find you, but...
Speaker: I guess Akiahub, go to akiahub.com. It's free to sign up. I think we have over 100 articles for you to just learn about everything. And then hopefully you want to join the community and start your journey. Well, thank you guys so much for being here. Thanks for having us.
Speaker: Yeah, thanks so much.
