The list of real estate companies filing for bankruptcy will grow this year as banks cut lending, said Takeo Higuchi, chairman of Daiwa House Industry Co., Japan's second-biggest home builder by market value.
Developers and construction companies dominated the ranks of failures in July, accounting for one-third of 1,131 bankruptcies in the month, the largest number since April 2005.
"It's hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel," said Higuchi, who last September predicted the property market was set to slow. "Banks will take an even tougher stance on providing loans to property firms after the bankruptcies and we will probably see more failures this year."