JAPANESE REAL ESTATE FIRM WILL DOUBLE PROFITS USING AIRBNB

July 28, 2016

Tourists are flocking to Japan like never before—last year tourism exploded by 46%—and savvy execs are trying to find ways to capitalize.

For Tokyo real estate firm Star Mica, that means Airbnb. Star Mica owns about 2,500 apartments in Japan and is considering renting them out using Airbnb as early as next year, Bloomberg reports. Firm president Masashi Mizunaga says investment yields on apartments are usually 6% to 7%, but using Airbnb could double that.

The firm isn’t ready to move ahead just yet. Airbnb operates in a legal gray area in Japan, but increased regulatory clarity is expected later this year. [Bloomberg]