Japan's real estate market is becoming lackluster after the growth of the past few years due to the ripple effect of the credit squeeze triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis.
Money from foreign hedge funds and others, which served to drive up property prices, has dried up, as those funds have faced subprime mortgage-related problems at home, analysts say.
"The real estate market has been hit hard by the effect of the U.S. subprime mortgage loan problems," said Takeshi Akagi, local director at Jones Lang LaSalle in Tokyo, a U.S.-based real estate services firm. "Lenders (for real estate loans) are reluctant or stopping."