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Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

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Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#61

Post by sn9 »

jutrewag wrote: post #44
0xbadc0de5 wrote: post #28

Important to note that, unlike in many other countries, housing in Japan is a depreciating asset, like a car. Their value goes to zero over time. This is somewhat contrary to what many of us are accustomed to, where houses are appreciating (or at least stable) assets which maintain or grow in value.

This doesn’t make any sense to me. Why wouldn’t a really poor family buy it when it’s really close to zero then, especially if it’s a perfectly habitable house.

Because the land still has value so it's cheaper to just build a new house on the land.

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#62

Post by jutrewag »

bradlys wrote: post #56
jutrewag wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until they homogenous their way to a country that doesn’t breed and has 75% of the population above 60.

I’m pretty sure they’re more okay with that than letting immigrants in. The Japanese have no interest in bringing different looking people into the country.

I’m sure they are but will that sentiment persist when threatened with extinction/forced breeding programs.

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#64

Post by fomine3 »

lapetitejort wrote: post #49
highwaylights wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you say “goes to zero”, does this mean they really trend to zero or a way of saying that declining population means the demand keeps decreasing? I’m trying to figure out if it’s a population thing or a short-lived construction thing.

Short-lived construction. The average lifespan of a house in Japan is 20-30 years [0]. Honestly, I like the approach. I'm living in a 100+ year old house. It costs a fortune to heat and cool. Any renovation brings the risk of toxic substances released into the air. But it's got lots of character, right? I guess so, but it's overrated. I dream of living in a new house with good insulation and easy to access electrical…

> The average lifespan of a house in Japan is 20-30 years [0]

This is a myth that I've seen many times. It's true for taxable value, but people just live there longer, like 30-50 years. House quality is improving since 80s (in -80s, they built crappy houses massively after houses were gone by the war) so lifespan will be expanded in the future. You can find older houses by using Google street view at random street. https://www.google.com/maps/@38.0624007,139.9893573,3a,75y,1...

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#66

Post by midoridensha »

jutrewag wrote: post #53
maxerickson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's likely not perfectly habitable as the price heads to zero.

If it’s a depreciating asset there’s a good chance it’s maintained while the price is dropping. How bad could it get as long as it’s not abandoned? The whole thing is built on a cultural premise where people don’t want to live in houses that have been lived in. It’s fickle and it’s amazing to me that it has persisted for so long.

People buy used houses all the time, at least in major cities. They just properly recognize that the value of the house goes to zero after ~40 years, but the land it's on retains (or even gains) value.

Honestly, I don't see how this is that much different than America: in the richest cities there, people frequently buy up some shitty old 1950s house on valuable land, tear down the house, and build a bigger and nicer one. Of course, a bunch of the elderly neighbors whine and complain about how the shitty old 50s house had "character"...

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#67

Post by midoridensha »

nibbleshifter wrote: post #25
wheresmycraisin wrote: post #8

We'd love to but the immigration policies are very unfriendly.

A while back I looked at how I would score on their "points based" immigration calculator thing. It wasn't good at all. I suspect they will have to have a strong rethink of their immigration policies in the next 10-20 years.

>A while back I looked at how I would score on their "points based" immigration calculator thing. >It wasn't good at all.

So I take it you don't have a college degree or work in the software field like most people here.

It's true: if you have no skills and work as a barista or janitor, Japan isn't very interested in having you immigrate here. If you're a skilled tech professional, however, it's the easiest country in the world to immigrate to. Experienced software engineers can easily score 70-80 points. With 80, you can apply for permanent residence in 1 year.

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#68

Post by midoridensha »

bradlys wrote: post #58
rtpg wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, “easily” based on what people who do it say. But getting citizenship requires [0] renouncing other citizenships. There’s a permanent resident status which is I think is closest to a green card. You can’t vote but you don’t have to work or otherwise justify your existence. You can temporarily leave the country for several years if you intend to return (apparently this is pretty loose so “several” = 10) There was…

The answer is no. No, it isn’t easy and no you will not get citizenship. Japan is notoriously difficult (impossible) to become a real citizen in.

That's a bald-faced lie. Anyone can apply after 5 years and it's not that hard. I know people who are naturalized here.

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#69

Post by midoridensha »

0max wrote: post #12
wheresmycraisin wrote: post #8

We'd love to but the immigration policies are very unfriendly.

Would really love to see the LDP decide to open up immigration for folks from ASEAN member states. The JICA's infra projects in the region are a strong soft power play, and are getting delivered faster than anything funded by the Belt and Road initiative (or at least when I look at the different projects in Metro Manila, they are).

I've met a bunch of Chinese people here, some of whom are naturalized Japanese. How much more open do you think it needs to get, open borders?

Re: Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000?

#70

Post by dave333 »

The first one of these I looked at turned out to be in a fishing town/village in the very west of Japan near Hirado City, Nagasaki Pref a US$20k 2700 sq ft "old folks home" that appears livable as is from the pictures and is comparable in many ways to Salcombe, Devon, UK where I happened to grow up and which is now one of the most expensive places in the UK. I can easily see becoming a Google Translate hermit in a place like that.
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