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The Tokyo metro area is quite affordable compared to desirable metro areas in the United States and Canada, as well as other East Asian metro areas outside Japa

The Tokyo metro area is quite affordable compared to desirable metro areas in the United States and Canada, as well as other East Asian metro areas outside Japan. While I'd struggle to find a place for $500,000 in Silicon Valley, $500,000 in the Tokyo metro area could buy a nice place, especially if one commutes from the suburbs. The public transportation system in the Tokyo metro area is top notch, even in the suburbs.

alephnerd 3y ago
A deflated housing bubble in the 90s and (relatively) lower salaries is also a reason in Tokyo. The median household income in the Bay Area is $128,000 [0] versus around $50-60,000 in Japan [1], with median house priced at $1.3m and ~$300k respectively. Both are pretty unaffordable for people earning normal salaries. The median in NSW (where Sydney is located) is around AUD$62,000 [2] but the median house go for AUD$1.3m [2] [0] - https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanfranciscocountycalifornia/EDU685221 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanfranciscocou... [1] - https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.html https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.html [2] - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/employee-earnings/latest-release https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-workin... [3] - https://www.ratecity.com.au/home-loans/mortgage-news/median-house-unit-prices-sydney-its-regions https://www.ratecity.com.au/home-loans/mortgage-news/median-... [4] - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/bay-area-housing-market/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/bay-are... [5] - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01311/ https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01311/
- linguae 3y ago
  That is definitely true. I currently live in a one-bedroom apartment near Silicon Valley; I can't afford to buy a house anywhere near the Bay Area unless I wanted to commute from Stockton, which has a very high crime rate. Conversely, I could afford a really nice place in Tokyo with my Silicon Valley income, but if I transferred to my company's Tokyo branch and took a local salary, my salary would go down substantially. Even so, I'd still be able to afford a home in a suburb of Tokyo (even $250,000 can get you a place out there). As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000!
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    > I currently live in a one-bedroom apartment near Silicon Valley; I can't afford to buy a house anywhere near the Bay Area unless I wanted to commute from Stockton I mean, you are going to have to get a mortgage to buy a house no matter which country you live in. A mortgage of $4-5k/month can still be doable assuming you saved enough for a down payment, though the lack of houses being sold makes it much more difficult to buy. That said, it's a similar story in every city I've been to - London, Boston, Saigon, HK, Delhi, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, etc. > As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000! Prices are lower, but managing, buying, and owning property is difficult if you aren't a Japanese national. A lot of those cheap rural houses are in their versions of WV or Idaho, where you can still find houses for a similar price. > Even so, I'd still be able to afford a home in a suburb of Tokyo To be fair, anything that isn't Central Tokyo is the Japanese equivalent of Stockton socially.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    > As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000! There are lots of conditions to that, including high property tax, requirements to farm, strict permanent residency requirements. I don't think many rural communities want to become desolate vacation home places, and they've surely thought of that when regulating their property markets.
- bugglebeetle 3y ago
  You can’t compare Tokyo and Bay Area mortgages this way as interests rates in Japan are still remarkably low and citizens of Japan are able to obtain favorable term, zero money down mortgages fairly easily (assuming they’re salaried workers). Nothing like this is available in the US. Likewise, rental costs in Tokyo are far cheaper than the Bay Area and Tokyo has stronger renter protections. From the perspective of housing (and myriad other things, like public transit), it’s much better to be a median income worker in Tokyo than the Bay. Australia, however, is it’s own special variety of fucked.

alephnerd 3y ago

A deflated housing bubble in the 90s and (relatively) lower salaries is also a reason in Tokyo. The median household income in the Bay Area is $128,000 [0] versus around $50-60,000 in Japan [1], with median house priced at $1.3m and ~$300k respectively. Both are pretty unaffordable for people earning normal salaries. The median in NSW (where Sydney is located) is around AUD$62,000 [2] but the median house go for AUD$1.3m [2] [0] - https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanfranciscocountycalifornia/EDU685221 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanfranciscocou... [1] - https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.html https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.html [2] - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/employee-earnings/latest-release https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-workin... [3] - https://www.ratecity.com.au/home-loans/mortgage-news/median-house-unit-prices-sydney-its-regions https://www.ratecity.com.au/home-loans/mortgage-news/median-... [4] - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/bay-area-housing-market/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/bay-are... [5] - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01311/ https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01311/

linguae 3y ago
That is definitely true. I currently live in a one-bedroom apartment near Silicon Valley; I can't afford to buy a house anywhere near the Bay Area unless I wanted to commute from Stockton, which has a very high crime rate. Conversely, I could afford a really nice place in Tokyo with my Silicon Valley income, but if I transferred to my company's Tokyo branch and took a local salary, my salary would go down substantially. Even so, I'd still be able to afford a home in a suburb of Tokyo (even $250,000 can get you a place out there). As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000!
- alephnerd 3y ago
  > I currently live in a one-bedroom apartment near Silicon Valley; I can't afford to buy a house anywhere near the Bay Area unless I wanted to commute from Stockton I mean, you are going to have to get a mortgage to buy a house no matter which country you live in. A mortgage of $4-5k/month can still be doable assuming you saved enough for a down payment, though the lack of houses being sold makes it much more difficult to buy. That said, it's a similar story in every city I've been to - London, Boston, Saigon, HK, Delhi, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, etc. > As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000! Prices are lower, but managing, buying, and owning property is difficult if you aren't a Japanese national. A lot of those cheap rural houses are in their versions of WV or Idaho, where you can still find houses for a similar price. > Even so, I'd still be able to afford a home in a suburb of Tokyo To be fair, anything that isn't Central Tokyo is the Japanese equivalent of Stockton socially.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  > As someone who travels to Japan frequently, my dream is to own a vacation home there. Outside of Tokyo homes can be even cheaper; I've seen listings in rural parts of Japan for places as low as $40,000! There are lots of conditions to that, including high property tax, requirements to farm, strict permanent residency requirements. I don't think many rural communities want to become desolate vacation home places, and they've surely thought of that when regulating their property markets.
bugglebeetle 3y ago
You can’t compare Tokyo and Bay Area mortgages this way as interests rates in Japan are still remarkably low and citizens of Japan are able to obtain favorable term, zero money down mortgages fairly easily (assuming they’re salaried workers). Nothing like this is available in the US. Likewise, rental costs in Tokyo are far cheaper than the Bay Area and Tokyo has stronger renter protections. From the perspective of housing (and myriad other things, like public transit), it’s much better to be a median income worker in Tokyo than the Bay. Australia, however, is it’s own special variety of fucked.