Sony aims to be the next ‘Zoocasa’
Jordan Maxwell
Other
Sony and Yahoo are teaming up to introduce a new real estate website that will match property buyers and sellers, the announcement coming on the heels of Zoocasa’s controversial relaunch.
Sony has engaged in property management through its new financial division, as well as renovation and consulting services, and expects the new service to complement its existing financing and insurance arm, Kazuo Nishiyama told Bloomberg.
“We can’t be caught in the way we used to do business in the past,” Nishiyama said in recent interview. “Even though this is new to us, it will enable us to pursue profit.”
While the site will launch in Japan, it is expected that Sony will rapidly expand operations to global and North American markets.
Japanese typically buy property for the value of the land, according to industry analysts, and tears down existing buildings to construct new ones because home values in Japan tend to decline over time. The government has introduced policies to encourage construction of longer-lasting buildings and to stimulate the resale and renovation market.
Even as residential investment rose to an accumulated 893.3 trillion yen in 2013, the value of the assets fell to 349.8 trillion yen, land ministry data showed.
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