Sohken becomes latest Japanese builder to fail

TOKYO Aug 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Sohken Homes Co 8911.T said on Tuesday it had filed for court protection from creditors with 33.8 billion yen ($309 million) in debt, the latest builder to fail due to tighter credit and a weak property market.

A string of midsize Japanese real estate companies have folded in the past few months as banks, reeling from the subprime loan crisis, rein in lending to a sector hit by higher costs and sluggish demand as the world's second-largest economy slows.

Tokyo-based Sohken said it started to have difficulty getting fresh loans from last summer while consumers have become reluctant to buy new homes due to high land prices and with the slide in global stock markets cutting into their wealth.

"A further deterioration in the global equities market decreased our target buyers' financial assets, making our sales activities even more difficult," the company said in a statement.

Sohken Homes shares closed up 14.2 percent at 16,100 yen on Tuesday before the announcement, but are still down about 70 percent since the start of 2008, sliding along with other property developers and construction firms.

Sohken's failure comes a day after unlisted apartment developer Sebon Co folded with 62 billion yen ($567 million) in debt, and two weeks after developer Urban Corp 8868.T failed with about $2.4 billion in debt in the biggest collapse by a listed company in six years.

A total of 12 listed Japanese companies have failed so far in 2008, nine of which have been in the real estate or construction sectors, according to research firm Tokyo Shoko Research.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it will delist Sohken's stock on Sept. 27. (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura)