Real estate portfolio and asset manager AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (AXA IM - Real Assets) has completed the acquisition of a 10-storey residential tower in Nagoya, Japan’s third-largest city. 

Known as Aden Imaike East, the building comprises 171 rental units, including 63 studios and 108 one-bedroom apartments, complete with private balconies and parking. Constructed in 2007, the 5,965-square-metre property has been well maintained. The Grade A building has been designed to attract young single occupants and dual-income couples due to its affordable rents and accessibility to the city centre. 

Strategically located in close proximity to Nagoya’s central business district, the property is near Imaike subway station, which connects to the central retail and business districts. The mainline Nagoya station is also close by and is served by the Shinkansen bullet train that offers high-speed trains to Osaka and Tokyo. 

Nagoya is the centre of Chukyo metropolitan area, the third largest in Japan with a population of 9.5 million. Its residential market is characterised by a shortage of affordable stock for rent while demand continues to rise in line with robust economic growth and infrastructure investment.

This acquisition marks AXA IM - Real Assets’ 13th in Japan and fifth in the Nagoya residential market, where it holds a strong conviction on account of the region’s continued economic growth and ability to draw inhabitants from throughout the country.

These investments form part of the company’s wider long-term strategy of investing in residential asset classes that it believes are supported by strong demographic drivers.

“This latest addition to our Japanese residential portfolio underlines our belief in the strength of the Nagoya market, supported by the city’s growing population and continued improvement in its infrastructure offerings, both of which underpin the potential for us to generate stable income and long-term value creation,” says Laurent Jacquemin, head of Asia-Pacific at AXA IM - Real Assets. “Our ability to conclude this deal against the backdrop of the current Covid-19 environment is testament to our belief in the defensiveness of residential asset classes in prime locations with good transport connectivity.”