3 ms·

Small / detached residential buildings have never really been valuable in japan, with exceptions: because of natural disasters either you could not expect the b

Small / detached residential buildings have never really been valuable in japan, with exceptions: because of natural disasters either you could not expect the building to last that long, or by the time you went around to buy it it was not up to code anymore and you had to tear it down to build a new one. Also while Japan's population declines overall, it also concentrates in a few metropolises, so rural land becomes cheaper, but also ever less attractive. Same with smaller cities. Japan is not going to have "ridiculously affordable housing for the foreseeable future", because the cheap housing is not where people are looking for housing. It's like saying that the US has affordable housing because NM has cheap land.

jwells89 3y ago
Relative to US cities, housing in Tokyo is generally pretty affordable. High end condos in the most hot/central parts of the city are still pricy but that’s a small percentage of available housing stock. The places a friend of mine who lives in Tokyo has rented over the years have all been considerably nicer and sometimes larger than what one would get for the same price in SF, LA, or NY while still being in walking distance of essentials and a short train ride away from any part of the city.
shiroiushi 3y ago
>It's like saying that the US has affordable housing because NM has cheap land. I think South Dakota might be a better comparison.