National Association of REALTORS® President Kevin Sears reinforced the organization’s longstanding ties in Japan, meeting with U.S. Embassy staff and NAR’s six bilateral partners in Tokyo throughout last week.
During his conversation with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan’s economic and scientific affairs teams, Sears emphasized the potential benefits of NAR-supported tax legislation that would permanently increase the qualified business income deduction, quadruple the state and local tax deduction cap, and permanently extend the mortgage interest deduction.
Sears also met with industry groups that share NAR’s mission to elevate real estate professionalism and uphold a compatible Code of Ethics.
The Japan-American Real Estate Coalition Office, known as JARECO, has been an NAR partner for the last 12 years and serves as the main conduit between NAR and five regional partners: The Real Estate Companies Association of Japan, National Federation of Real Estate Transaction Associations, The Association of Real Estate Agents of Japan, All Japan Real Estate Association and Japan Association of Home Suppliers.
NAR continues to expand its geographic reach. For instance, during JARECO’s June conference, Sears signed a bilateral partnership agreement with the Myanmar Real Estate Services Association. The strategic alliance will help foster stronger business connections between Myanmar real estate professionals and NAR members in the U.S. and other countries. The signing brings the association’s total partner country count to 78.
These global relationships allow real estate professionals from around the world to join NAR as international members, to learn, network and leverage global business opportunities.
They also provide U.S.-based NAR members with more opportunities to expand their businesses with foreign buyers, who represent a $42 billion slice of the residential pie, according to the latest NAR figures. The 2025 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report is anticipated later this month.
Housing as a Global Economic Engine
At the conference—which included brokers, agents, members of the press and more—Sears identified the reasons behind the housing affordability crisis but also exuded optimism.
“In the United States, the real estate sector represents nearly 20% of gross domestic product, and so we are a true engine for the whole economy,” Sears said.
He added: “What we do in Washington, D.C., is advocate for property owners…In 2017, President Trump passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has many provisions set to expire in 2025, and this new bill will look to extend permanently some of the tax benefits for property ownership.”
The JARECO audience of more than 100 real estate practitioners heard from NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who explained how high federal interest rates and inflation have led to high mortgage payments and contributed to historically low home sales.
“Now, Japan historically has always had a low inflation rate, sometimes negative inflation,” Yun said. “So, the yen has almost the same purchasing power today as it did 10 years ago, or even 20 years ago. But not in America. The value of the dollar—the purchasing power of the dollar—depreciates over time because of some inflation.”
Throughout Yun’s presentation, he compared and contrasted how factors like population growth, job creation and new construction have impacted both the U.S. and Japanese housing markets.
Spotlighting Opportunities
California REALTOR® Hiroko Nishikawa Naumann, NAR’s global ambassador to Japan and Mongolia since 2021 as well as an NAR board member, was the secret ingredient to the trip's success.
“The conference theme, ‘Opportunities in Japan,’ highlighted the rising interest in inbound real estate investments due to favorable currency rates,” Naumann said. “Participating in a panel discussion, I gained insights into the current landscape, challenges, and robust support available to international buyers and sellers in Japan.”
Japanese investors were among the top cross-border U.S. commercial real estate purchaserspdf, behind Canadian and Singaporean investors, according to figures reported by NAR in early 2023.
“Globalization has become the norm in real estate today,” Naumann said. “In this context, deepening understanding of each country’s real estate operations is very important. By strengthening global partnerships, REALTORS® in each country can adopt NAR’s standard practices and Code of Ethics, fostering increased opportunities for global transactions. This is a significant benefit for NAR members, enhancing their ability to engage in international real estate markets.”
