I just came across this incredible fact about Japan’s economic bubble in the late 1980s. During the peak of their real estate crisis, the total value of property in Tokyo was actually worth more than all the land in the entire United States. This seems absolutely crazy to me when you think about it. How is it even possible for one city, no matter how big, to be valued higher than a whole country? I understand Tokyo is huge and densely populated, but the US has so much more land area. Was this valuation based on actual market prices or just theoretical calculations? It makes me wonder how inflated those property prices really were back then. Does anyone know more details about this situation or have other examples of similar real estate bubbles in history?
It’s crazy how bubble economics work. People were actually taking out loans that spanned a century!
Yeah this is like those city builder games where you jack up property values to insane levels. But reality was even crazier - people paid millions for what’s basically a closet.
It’s wild how that entire situation unfolded. Banks were using property as collateral for loans, which just kept inflating the bubble. My dad was in finance back then and mentioned that many folks believed prices would just keep rising because Japan has limited land. The reality of the math was totally off.
That crash must’ve been insane. Losing 80% of your home’s value overnight is brutal.
That period was absolutely insane. People bought tiny apartments for millions, thinking prices would never stop climbing. The Imperial Palace grounds were supposedly worth more than all of California. Wild how an entire generation got completely screwed when everything crashed in the 90s.