Get the inside scoop on Japan’s 90 lakh abandoned properties market and uncover the secrets of their declining birth rates!
Japan now has nine million unoccupied houses, more than the population of New York City. According to experts, the large spike in vacant properties is due to Japan’s shrinking population. In Japan, 14% of the residential properties are empty.
Why are these houses empty?
In many Western countries, when people pass down their home and their land from generation to generation, in Japan traditional properties are also passed down through generations or sold for a profit. The value of an average Japanese home reduces from the first day of construction, fast forward, it becomes half its value in 10 years and nearly worthless in 25. The decline in value happens because of the popular stigma that a Japanese home has a lifespan of 30 years.
What is “Akiya”?
Within the past year, a home in an inconvenient place has been listed for sale for as little as 150,000 yen. That is almost as cheap as $1,380 currently.
Such abandoned buildings, known as “Akiya,” were discovered in Japan’s rural districts. But such houses may now be found in major Japanese cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto. “This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline. “It’s not a problem of building too many houses” but “a problem of not having enough people,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies.
After the death of the tenants of these Akiya homes, the husband or wife of the person in question receives half of the property. The remainder should be transferred to their heirs. However, in Japan, it is impossible to find the deceased’s heirs and transfer the property. Despite this, the country is concerned that too many residences in Japan are left unsupported.
Japan’s population is getting older, and birth rates are low. Abandoned homes include people’s second homes. Among them, there are residences that are temporarily vacated while their owners work abroad, and there are those offers that are left unoccupied for various reasons.
Is it safe to buy these houses for foreigners?
Travelling through abandoned houses in depressed metropolitan areas is quite risky. However, the towns and surrounding areas of Japanese residences are not like depressed urban or anything like high-risk zones. Very calm in the countryside or beside the sea. It is peaceful, with nice Neighbours, and quite safe to stay in.
So, if you’re looking to shift to Japan, you can, definitely, remodel and renovate such houses to stay in.
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