[Middle-aged Generation Investment Survey] Despite High Income and Interest, About 80% Have "No Experience Consulting" a Real Estate Company. Is the "Sales Barrier" Blocking the First Step?
A survey by Propally Inc. targeting middle-aged high earners reveals that 79.5% have never consulted a real estate agent, primarily due to the fear of persistent sales tactics.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 03:02 (16h 30m after Collected)
Real Estate Investment Platform developer and operator Propally Inc. (https://propally.co.jp/) (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Ikuri Saito) conducted a survey targeting company employees and others aged 30 to 49 (annual income of 7 to 12 million yen) who are inexperienced in but interested in real estate investment, to clarify the hurdles blocking the first step toward real estate investment. This survey revealed the current situation where many in the demographic suitable for real estate investment do not have contact with real estate companies, as well as the kind of support required moving forward.
Survey Summary
The overview of the results for this survey is as follows:
1. Even with an interest in real estate investment, 79.5% have "no experience consulting" a real estate company.
2. 31.7% are wary of "persistent sales," with "reliability of the agent" and "anxiety about lack of knowledge" also acting as hurdles.
3. Among those who haven't considered consulting, 26.5% answered they "don't want to consult in the first place," and 15.7% answered they "don't know what is needed."
4. 57.3% desire "anonymous browsing of the investment track record of people similar to themselves," suggesting a demand for "objective data."
Survey Implementation Overview
Survey Institution: In-house survey
Survey Method: Internet survey (iBridge Corporation "Freeasy")
Target Area: Nationwide in Japan
Target Audience: Company employees, etc. aged 30 to 49 with an interest but no experience in real estate investment (annual income of 7 million to 12 million yen)
Survey Period: April 2, 2026 – April 6, 2026
Number of Valid Responses: 180
* The specific occupations of the target audience are company employees (full-time, contract/dispatch), civil servants (excluding teaching staff), and doctors.
* Pre-screening was allocated according to demographic composition ratios. In the main survey, allocation was conducted based on the appearance rate of the applicable conditions in the pre-screening.
Main Survey Results
1. Even with an interest in real estate investment, 79.5% have "no experience consulting" a real estate company
While real estate investment is attracting attention as an option for future asset building, how many people are actually taking action? First, here are the results of asking company employees in a certain income bracket who are interested in real estate investment whether they have ever consulted a real estate company.
Looking at the percentage of answers, "I have never thought about consulting" was 56.7%, and "I considered consulting but ended up not doing it" was 22.8%. Combined, 79.5% have no experience consulting a real estate company. On the other hand, 7.8% answered "I have consulted," and 12.8% answered "I don't know/don't remember."
Even among a demographic that meets the financial requirements for general real estate investment and possesses an interest in investing, the number of people who have actually contacted a real estate company is limited. It appears that some sort of hurdle exists in the process of moving from the stage of gaining interest to actual consultation.
2. 31.7% are wary of "persistent sales," with "reliability of the agent" and "anxiety about lack of knowledge" also acting as hurdles
So, what specific factors are causing them to hesitate taking the step to consult? Next are the results of asking those who "considered consulting a real estate company but ended up not doing it" for their reasons.
As for specific reasons, "I felt like I would be subjected to persistent sales" was the highest at 31.7%. This was followed by "I couldn't judge which company was reliable" and "I thought I still lacked knowledge" tied at 29.3%, and "I felt that consulting equaled being pressured to buy" at 19.5%.
Although there is an interest in investment, the negative image of "sales seeming persistent" appears to be acting as a brake on action. Additionally, anxiety about interacting with a real estate company without knowledge and swallowing their proposals whole can be glimpsed. It is thought that strong caution and concern over lack of information are overlapping, causing hesitation in directly consulting.
3. Among those who haven't considered consulting, 26.5% answered they "don't want to consult in the first place," and 15.7% answered they "don't know what is needed"
On the other hand, under what circumstances would those who have not yet even considered consulting a real estate company take action? Next are the results of asking those who "have never thought about consulting" a real estate company about the conditions that would trigger them to do so.
The highest percentage was not a specific trigger, but the answer "I don't want to consult a real estate company in the first place" (26.5%). This was followed by conditions such as "When a substantial down payment (own funds) has been saved" (16.7%) and "When the price range of properties I can buy with my annual income and attributes becomes clear" (15.7%), while "I would like to consult if there was a specific trigger, but I don't know what is needed" also reached 15.7%.
It is evident that more than 1 in 4 of the demographic not considering consultation is avoiding contact with real estate companies entirely.
Survey Summary
The overview of the results for this survey is as follows:
1. Even with an interest in real estate investment, 79.5% have "no experience consulting" a real estate company.
2. 31.7% are wary of "persistent sales," with "reliability of the agent" and "anxiety about lack of knowledge" also acting as hurdles.
3. Among those who haven't considered consulting, 26.5% answered they "don't want to consult in the first place," and 15.7% answered they "don't know what is needed."
4. 57.3% desire "anonymous browsing of the investment track record of people similar to themselves," suggesting a demand for "objective data."
Survey Implementation Overview
Survey Institution: In-house survey
Survey Method: Internet survey (iBridge Corporation "Freeasy")
Target Area: Nationwide in Japan
Target Audience: Company employees, etc. aged 30 to 49 with an interest but no experience in real estate investment (annual income of 7 million to 12 million yen)
Survey Period: April 2, 2026 – April 6, 2026
Number of Valid Responses: 180
* The specific occupations of the target audience are company employees (full-time, contract/dispatch), civil servants (excluding teaching staff), and doctors.
* Pre-screening was allocated according to demographic composition ratios. In the main survey, allocation was conducted based on the appearance rate of the applicable conditions in the pre-screening.
Main Survey Results
1. Even with an interest in real estate investment, 79.5% have "no experience consulting" a real estate company
While real estate investment is attracting attention as an option for future asset building, how many people are actually taking action? First, here are the results of asking company employees in a certain income bracket who are interested in real estate investment whether they have ever consulted a real estate company.
Looking at the percentage of answers, "I have never thought about consulting" was 56.7%, and "I considered consulting but ended up not doing it" was 22.8%. Combined, 79.5% have no experience consulting a real estate company. On the other hand, 7.8% answered "I have consulted," and 12.8% answered "I don't know/don't remember."
Even among a demographic that meets the financial requirements for general real estate investment and possesses an interest in investing, the number of people who have actually contacted a real estate company is limited. It appears that some sort of hurdle exists in the process of moving from the stage of gaining interest to actual consultation.
2. 31.7% are wary of "persistent sales," with "reliability of the agent" and "anxiety about lack of knowledge" also acting as hurdles
So, what specific factors are causing them to hesitate taking the step to consult? Next are the results of asking those who "considered consulting a real estate company but ended up not doing it" for their reasons.
As for specific reasons, "I felt like I would be subjected to persistent sales" was the highest at 31.7%. This was followed by "I couldn't judge which company was reliable" and "I thought I still lacked knowledge" tied at 29.3%, and "I felt that consulting equaled being pressured to buy" at 19.5%.
Although there is an interest in investment, the negative image of "sales seeming persistent" appears to be acting as a brake on action. Additionally, anxiety about interacting with a real estate company without knowledge and swallowing their proposals whole can be glimpsed. It is thought that strong caution and concern over lack of information are overlapping, causing hesitation in directly consulting.
3. Among those who haven't considered consulting, 26.5% answered they "don't want to consult in the first place," and 15.7% answered they "don't know what is needed"
On the other hand, under what circumstances would those who have not yet even considered consulting a real estate company take action? Next are the results of asking those who "have never thought about consulting" a real estate company about the conditions that would trigger them to do so.
The highest percentage was not a specific trigger, but the answer "I don't want to consult a real estate company in the first place" (26.5%). This was followed by conditions such as "When a substantial down payment (own funds) has been saved" (16.7%) and "When the price range of properties I can buy with my annual income and attributes becomes clear" (15.7%), while "I would like to consult if there was a specific trigger, but I don't know what is needed" also reached 15.7%.
It is evident that more than 1 in 4 of the demographic not considering consultation is avoiding contact with real estate companies entirely.