50-year mortgage products gain traction across Japan banking sector

Adam German
Mar 31
3 min read

Longer mortgage repayment periods are becoming increasingly common in Japan, with 50-year housing loan terms emerging as the most widely offered option among lenders, according to a new survey by the Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF).

The findings suggest financial institutions are expanding longer-term loan products to keep monthly payments manageable for borrowers amid rising housing costs and changing demographic conditions.

House model and magnifying glass on blue background.

Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

The JHF on March 24 released the results of its FY2025 Survey on Housing Loan Lending Trends, conducted between July and September 2025 among 299 financial institutions that offer housing loans. Responses were received from 298 institutions, representing a response rate of 99.7%.

Lenders remain proactive on housing loan expansion

The survey found that 71.1% of lenders described their stance toward new housing loans as proactive, while 28.5% said they were maintaining their current approach. Only 0.3% reported a cautious or contractionary lending stance.

Among institutions taking a proactive approach, the most common strategy for expanding lending was strengthening product competitiveness, cited by 64.9% of respondents. This was followed by expanded interest rate incentives at 47.9% and organizational or staffing enhancements at 41.7%.

The share of lenders expanding rate incentives has been rising steadily, as has the adoption of digitalized application and borrowing procedures, selected by 36.0% of respondents. This category was added to the survey in FY2024.

50-year mortgage terms become more common in Japan

One visible outcome of this more proactive lending stance is the rapid spread of longer mortgage repayment terms.

For newly issued loans, 50-year repayment periods have increased notably compared with the FY2024 survey. Among variable-rate loans, 57.5% of institutions now offer a maximum term of 50 years. The share was 55.2% for fixed-period loans and 34.0% for fully fixed-rate loans.

In the previous year’s survey, the most common maximum repayment period across all loan types was 40 years, but in FY2025 the 50-year term became the most widely offered option.

Growth in environmentally focused housing loans

Environmentally focused housing loans also saw modest growth. The share of financial institutions offering such products rose slightly to 37.2%, although the proportion considering introducing them declined to 4.0%.

Among eligible property types, homes equipped with solar power generation systems were the most financed, cited by 73.0% of institutions. ZEH (Net Zero Energy House) properties ranked second at 64.9%. Financing for ZEH homes, long-term quality housing (47.7%), and certified low-carbon housing (30.6%) has also been increasing steadily.

Financing expands for vacant home demolition and renovation

Loans related to vacant homes are also becoming more widely available. Financial institutions offering such loans accounted for 56.0% of respondents, an increase from the previous year.

Among eligible uses of funds, demolition of vacant homes was the most common purpose, supported by 92.2% of lenders. This was followed by renovation projects to reuse vacant homes (49.1%) and purchasing and renovating vacant homes (31.7%).

Reverse mortgages remain a niche product

Attitudes toward reverse mortgages remain relatively cautious. Only 20.9% of lenders said they were actively promoting reverse mortgage products, while 70.5% indicated they were maintaining their current stance and 8.5% said they were taking a cautious approach.

In terms of usage, home renovation funding was the most common purpose for reverse mortgages, cited by 82.4% of institutions. This was followed by funding for building or purchasing a primary residence (77.6%) and refinancing existing home loans (76.0%).

Source:

R.E. Port News (Japanese only)