Bring It On Home

IREA’s English-speaking real estate agents help clients find their perfect properties.

There may be no better time than now to buy a property in Japan. But the domestic real estate market comes with significant challenges.

When compared to other developed countries, the processes involved in real estate transactions here can be complicated and opaque. This, compounded with the language barrier and cultural differences, can make foreign investors and would-be property buyers feel skeptical and uncertain.

This is why having someone in your corner is crucial. IREA, which is backed by more than 20 years of experience, is an agency that offers invaluable expertise, trustworthy service and excellent results.

What makes IREA stand out is the quality of its agents, who can assist in determining the market price of a property, buying income or residential properties and finding the ideal rental. Guided by three key values—transparency, trust and professionalism—they combine a keen understanding of the Japanese real estate market and its dynamics with a personal touch that helps them build lasting relationships with their clients.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
IREA’s agents come from diverse backgrounds, with overseas experience that gives them deep insights into the concerns of foreign clients. One is Rukiye Tohti, who has been a real estate agent since July 2021. A native of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tohti has been an entrepreneur, a hotel manager in her hometown, a sales manager for a travel agency in Istanbul and a member of a business development team that was tackling social problems, such as women’s poverty.

Her cross-cultural experience, ability to listen carefully to what her clients need and dedication to providing them with support throughout the property-buying process has led to a long string of successes. This includes helping a couple from Florida who wanted to make a quick decision on a property purchase during a short visit. After listening closely to their needs, Tohti was able to share a range of options that they narrowed down to one—a luxury tower mansion in Yotsuya. Needing to return to the States, they left the final transactions to her. She also arranged for a renovation company to do some work on the property, which the couple was thrilled to have as their new vacation home in Japan.

Tohti explains that she understands the challenges people from overseas face. “Buying in Japan can be challenging and stressful for foreigners, but I’m here to make it easy with the right information and professional assistance. My passion has always been to help people in any way I can.”

Rukiye Tohti

THE EXTRA MILE
Naomi Fukuda, who has been a real estate agent for five years, shares the same passion. Her overseas experience includes extensive travel for a position at JTB and later as the Japan PR director for Australia’s Tourism Northern Territory. And she is one of IREA’s most decorated agents. When she was a RE/MAX agent last year, she was the top seller out of about 400 agents between January and September 2023. Fukuda is also a licensed financial planner, which enables her to provide detailed financial advice.

As a keen observer of global financial trends, she recommends that would-be buyers purchase a property with a high market value. And although the yen is very weak and the real estate market is quite hot now, she thinks that prices could still rise. Fukuda also points out that the homes she recommends to clients who are buying residences or vacation properties and not planning to stay in Japan long term are very different from those she suggests for people who intend to live in Japan for the rest of their lives.

She has a wealth of repeat and referral clients who have appreciated her willingness to go the extra mile. A case in point is a Japanese American man from Seattle who had family in Japan. He had made a trip here to look for a property but couldn’t find what he was looking for. Later, finding the property online, he asked Fukuda to pay it a visit. She later showed it to him over a Zoom call and he knew that he had found the right one. While the client was able to visit the property in person at one point, he couldn’t be in Japan to sign the purchase contract or officially take over the property. Fukuda served as his representative during the entire process and eventually flew to Seattle to meet him at T-Mobile Park during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game to deliver the keys to his new home.

As she explains, it was all in a day’s work. “I love doing things for the well-being of others. If someone chooses me to be their agent, I will do my utmost to achieve the best results.”