Bad news for Japan condo owners

Japanese condominium sales may fall for a third year in 2008, according to the Real Estate Economic Research Institute, a Tokyo-based industry publisher. This is another sign that the Japan’s condominium market has “deteriorated”.Building code changes last year delayed projects and construction costs soared, said Akira Mori, chief executive officer of the developer Mori Trust Co. Mori said in an interview on March 24 that “there is a high probability for bankruptcies among condo builders.”The collapse of the subprime market in the U.S. has made it harder for Japanese developers to borrow. At the same time, building materials and land have become more expensive.