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For international comparison sake, this graph is useful. One has to select Japan to add it to the chart. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/03/31/gl

For international comparison sake, this graph is useful. One has to select Japan to add it to the chart. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/03/31/global-house-prices https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/03/31/global-h...

rjf72 8y ago
This [1] is arguably even more useful. It gives a perfect illustration of how to keep housing prices low. 1995 is a key moment. Japan has been going through nearly 3 decades now of something between recession and stagnation. Their GDP was higher in 1995 than it is today. For some contrast, the US GDP has nearly tripled since then. This is also gross GDP and not GDP/capita. Japan at one point had a greater GDP/capita than even the US. Their plummeting fertility rate and aging population is just icing on all of these problems and one that, incidentally, also helps with housing problems. As some villages face the probability of just going extinct there's even widespread issues with homes simply ended up completely abandoned. For instance on one prefecture nearly 11% of all homes had been simply abandoned. [2] But indeed all of these factors (along some other uniquely Japanese trends that others have hit on) are sure to result in low home prices. But again, this is nothing anybody would ever want to emulate. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc [2] - https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/16/national/social-issues/japan-becoming-extinct/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/16/national/social...
hikarudo 8y ago
Try selecting Brazil in the Economist link. Are houses there really that expensive?
- haolez 8y ago
  The government started giving really cheap credit to low income families to be able to buy houses around 2008/2009. What they achieve instead was a 10x variation in house prices. It backfired and now the only ones buying here are the ones willing to take huge debts that will last 30 years. It’s probably a bubble.
  - gcb0 8y ago
    not for the reasons you think. Most construction monopolies held to the new units hopping that the affordable housing rules would be removed by the incomming change of government. also, have to check if that graph is for listed or sold prices. most places go for less than 60% of list price
    - haolez 8y ago
      > most places go for less than 60% of list price As of today, maybe. But we had to endure several years of inflated prices. It's hard to not correlate the inflation directly to the government's monetary policy.

rjf72 8y ago

This [1] is arguably even more useful. It gives a perfect illustration of how to keep housing prices low. 1995 is a key moment. Japan has been going through nearly 3 decades now of something between recession and stagnation. Their GDP was higher in 1995 than it is today. For some contrast, the US GDP has nearly tripled since then. This is also gross GDP and not GDP/capita. Japan at one point had a greater GDP/capita than even the US. Their plummeting fertility rate and aging population is just icing on all of these problems and one that, incidentally, also helps with housing problems. As some villages face the probability of just going extinct there's even widespread issues with homes simply ended up completely abandoned. For instance on one prefecture nearly 11% of all homes had been simply abandoned. [2] But indeed all of these factors (along some other uniquely Japanese trends that others have hit on) are sure to result in low home prices. But again, this is nothing anybody would ever want to emulate. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc [2] - https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/16/national/social-issues/japan-becoming-extinct/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/16/national/social...

hikarudo 8y ago

Try selecting Brazil in the Economist link. Are houses there really that expensive?

haolez 8y ago
The government started giving really cheap credit to low income families to be able to buy houses around 2008/2009. What they achieve instead was a 10x variation in house prices. It backfired and now the only ones buying here are the ones willing to take huge debts that will last 30 years. It’s probably a bubble.
- gcb0 8y ago
  not for the reasons you think. Most construction monopolies held to the new units hopping that the affordable housing rules would be removed by the incomming change of government. also, have to check if that graph is for listed or sold prices. most places go for less than 60% of list price
  - haolez 8y ago
    > most places go for less than 60% of list price As of today, maybe. But we had to endure several years of inflated prices. It's hard to not correlate the inflation directly to the government's monetary policy.