Some fresh money is sniffing at Japan. .  .

“LaSalle Investment Management said on Monday it is ready to resume investing in Asian property after nine months on the sidelines and that it has $3 billion available for investments.”

“The U.S. real estate investment firm, which has $8.7 billion in Asian assets, will initially focus on Japan and Australia, Chief Investment Officer for Asia Pacific Ian Mackie told the Reuters Real Estate Summit in Singapore.”

The Japan market certainly offers the opportunity to get set in size and with decent yields, but the growth story is limited, so exit is always going to be the issue.   For long term investors, Japanese assets makes sense:  you get your money back through the cash flow.  But for investors looking for a flip trade it is hard to see a quick recovery of asset prices.  Unless, of course, you can find something super cheap and look to flip it out at just cheap..

http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalRealEstate09/idUSTRE55K2G920090621