AIAIG Overseas Property Investment Weekly Report | 2025 Week 52 (Part 1):...

Week 52 of 2025 (12/23–12/27) falls within the year-end "policy closure + task handover" window: countries are more inclined to summarize, set the tone, and supplement systems, rather than launch high-intensity stimulus. For overseas real estate investors, such weekly reports should be read with a focus on three key words:

• Transparency: The ability to declare, register, and statistics for foreign home purchases continues to strengthen.
• Security and Supply: Housing supply-side, affordable housing, and urban renewal become long-term main themes.
• Financial Efficiency: The digitization of financing processes and the efficiency improvement in mortgage registration/cancellation are transforming the home-buying experience.

AIAIG Viewpoint: If you are engaged in "cross-border long-term allocation," the upgrade of the institutional foundation is usually beneficial (risk boundaries become clearer); if you are engaged in "short-term arbitrage," the increase in transparency and expansion of declaration requirements will gradually compress the information asymmetry dividend.

Although Japan's relevant policy information was intensively disclosed in mid-December, the year-end week still holds significance as a 'window period before implementation':

1. Expansion of Foreign Investment Property Purchase Reporting Scope: Japan plans to revise rules requiring foreigners purchasing domestic real estate (including residential use) to submit reports to the government, with the target timeframe set for the next fiscal year (media reports mention April as a key point).

2. Strengthening Registration Information (Nationality Information): Japan is also advancing the collection of 'nationality' and other information during real estate registration to more accurately grasp the acquisition of real estate by foreigners.

AIAIG Perspective: Japan is not immediately moving towards 'banning foreign investment,' but rather upgrading foreign property purchases from 'social discussion' to 'quantifiable governance.' For Chinese buyers, this will change two key expectations:

• Compliance Material Expectations: The property purchase path becomes more like entering an identifiable and quantifiable system; the importance of material preparation, consistency of identity information, and explanation of funding sources increases.
• Holding Structure Expectations: If future regulation extends to ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) or adopts a look-through identification approach, 'corporate/SPV structures' will face higher transparency requirements and compliance costs.

Conclusion: Japan remains a candidate for 'core asset' holdings, but the buying logic is more suitable for 'rental cash flow + long-term holding,' not for betting on short-term price differentials.

Vietnam continued the policy mainline of 'supply side + security side + order side' this week. The Prime Minister publicly demanded continued strengthening of housing demand security and the implementation of policies on 'housing rights,' and emphasized project advancement, institutional coordination, and execution intensity on multiple public occasions.

From an investment perspective, the core implications of Vietnam's current policy environment are:

• Prices are unlikely to be encouraged to rapidly detach from income and supply realities;
• Opportunities are more likely to arise in cycles of 'compliant supply release' and 'legal bottlenecks being cleared,' rather than in cycles of emotional speculation;
• The key for foreign investment participation remains the project qualifications, purchase quotas, and the interpretability of property rights/renewal mechanisms.

The core of the Thai market in the year-end phase remains 'reducing transaction costs, supporting transactions and confidence'. Investors should pay special attention to: the frequently mentioned 0.01% transfer/mortgage registration fee discount has applicable conditions, targeting more eligible Thai domestic buyers and specific transaction types.

AIAIG View: For foreign investors, the direct benefits of such policies are limited, but they can enhance market stability by improving local transactions and liquidity; what truly determines the return experience for foreign investors are:

• Rental demand in cities and sectors (tourism, employment, education)
• Holding structure (condominium ownership, long-term lease, legal structure)
• Contracts and leasing norms (consumer protection, short-term rental governance)

Dubai's policy/service signals this week are very typical: not necessarily changing taxes or purchase restrictions, but using 'financial and registration service productization' to enhance market efficiency.

• Digitalization of Mortgage Process: Connecting multiple lending institutions through a platform approach to reduce information costs, improve processing efficiency, and strengthen the one-stop experience of 'comparison—application—approval'.
• Upgrade of Mortgage Release Services: Launching service packages related to 'mortgage release after loan settlement', aiming for clearer and faster property transfer and transaction experiences.

AIAIG Perspective: Against the backdrop of stricter regulation in other markets, Dubai's strategy is to 'streamline processes', continuing to attract global buyers with efficiency and certainty. For investors, efficiency improvements directly impact: financing costs, transaction cycles, secondary liquidity, and cash flow initiation speed.

Although China is not a regular core region of this weekly report, this week China explicitly stated in the housing policy meeting that by 2026, it will strengthen urban renewal, stabilize the real estate market, improve the supply of affordable housing, and enhance the financial and risk disposal framework.

AIAIG View: The reason why such signals are worth attention from overseas real estate investors is that Chinese assets and household fund behaviors can affect cross-border capital flows: when domestic policy goals lean more towards 'stabilizing expectations and de-risking,' overseas allocation demands often emphasize 'certainty, clear rules, and cash flow.' This indirectly influences the buyer structure and capital preferences in markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, and Dubai.

AIAIG This Week's Policy Conclusions:

• Japan: Foreign real estate purchases have entered a governance phase of "must be traceable." Improved declaration and registration information will enhance transparency.
• Vietnam: Housing rights and supply-side advancement remain the main focus, with opportunities leaning more toward compliant supply release rather than price stimulation.
• Thailand: Transaction cost support is still in place, but foreign investors need to identify applicable scopes, as real returns come from demand and structure.
• Dubai: Efficiency is enhanced by productizing financial and registration services, turning the "home-buying experience" into a competitive edge.

For investors, greater transparency means more emphasis on compliance and cash flow, while higher efficiency calls for more attention to sector and product quality.