Photo/Illutration A residential area developed around 1960 in Hyogo Prefecture. Awajishima island can be seen in the background. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Ryo Yamamoto saw a niche in the housing market and went for it, not by snapping up a property for a song but by setting up his own real estate company.

His selling point? He only caters to those aged 65 or older seeking properties to rent.

Despite close to 30 percent of the population being in that age bracket, Yamamoto, 31, strangely has few competitors.

His company, R65 Inc., is widely seen as a new business model as Japan confronts the growing reality of a rapidly aging population.

House owners are traditionally reluctant to rent their properties to older people due to issues stemming from age.

R65 Inc., based in the capital’s Suginami Ward, was founded in 2015. Yamamoto serves as president.

His inspiration to cater exclusively to the older generation came while he was working at another real estate broker and encountered a woman in her 80s who had been shown the door by more than one realtor due to her age.

Yamamoto said he must have made nearly 200 phone calls before he found a residence that would accept the elderly client.

“She's healthy but being rejected simply because of her age,” Yamamoto recalled thinking at the time. “There must be many people like her facing the same difficulty.”

Yamamoto reached out to landlords to build a network of connections, and established R65 with an eye toward “catering exclusively to those aged 65 or over.”

The company’s website lists 1,000 homes and apartments in Hokkaido, Ehime Prefecture and other regions across the nation as well as 200 or so properties in the capital’s Nerima and Ota wards and western Tokyo.

R65 puts customers in contact with faraway house owners by working closely with local brokers.

Yamamoto noted that facilities that cater to elderly residents needing nursing services, as well as care homes, entail huge upfront costs, while people who do not need higher levels of care are ineligible.

For these reasons, many elderly people are simply seeking ordinary leased properties after selling their own homes to fund their future daily needs.

Accepting senior citizens as tenants offers a number of advantages, according to Yamamoto.

While, younger clients prefer newer properties located near train stations, elderly individuals are prone to choose homes with larger rooms even if they are showing their age.

Older people also tend to seek out apartments on the first floor to avoid using stairs.

Whereas students tend to move periodically after short periods, elderly residents like to stick around for years. This results in lower vacancy rates and reduced renovation costs.

MONITORING TO LOWER RISK

Still, few property owners are willing to make their homes available for elderly residents for fear they may die alone in the house. Such events tend to put off future tenants.

To lessen the risk, R65 introduced a “monitoring service” jointly with private businesses and government authorities to ensure that tenants are managing without any major health issues.

With the novel coronavirus pandemic raging, R65’s revenue dropped by more than half from the previous year. The company normally receives 50 to 60 inquiries about properties in Tokyo each month, but almost none came in during a one-month period last year when a state of emergency was in effect.

Because R65 runs 15 share houses in and outside the capital, the company “managed to survive.” But it has a different client base than before the pandemic.

“Previously, many inquiries came from relatively wealthy individuals, but many of our clients are now seeking new homes after they are forced to leave their current residences due to dwindling income resulting from the coronavirus outbreak,” Yamamoto explained.

He said his ultimate goal is “to make the R65 service no longer necessary.”

Teaming up with other real estate agencies and local authorities, Yamamoto organizes seminars and other sessions to spread awareness that elderly people also need places to rent.

“My hope is for society to be one in which elderly people have no difficulties finding out a home,” he said.

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