I feel like this is changing even in the 5 years since this article was written. Sellers are realizing that they can find a buyer faster and get more value by r

I feel like this is changing even in the 5 years since this article was written. Sellers are realizing that they can find a buyer faster and get more value by renovating a house prior to listing for sale. Here's a 30+ year old used single family home chosen basically at random, it was renovated in June 2023: https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/kanagawa/sc_kawasakishikawasaki/nc_72817993/ https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/kanagawa/sc_kawasakishikawasa... Or if the seller doesn't have the money or motivation to renovate themselves, there are companies like this which will basically buy a house as-is and pay cash, and then renovate it and flip it: https://www.real-to-hearts.jp/ https://www.real-to-hearts.jp/ Used homes listings like this can be found increasingly all over Japan, and I expect it to become increasingly common as older homes from the 80s and earlier (which do tend to be pretty crap in my experience and are not worth renovating) are torn down, and more homes from the 90s onwards (which tend to be pretty well-built and are worth renovating) enter the used home market. For sure though I still see a lot of homes being torn down and new homes being built in their place (actually happening right outside my window as I write this). Or agricultural land being rezoned for new housing construction... often times right next to a vacant and decrepit old house.