Japan Housing Depreciation

Japan I think is a bit different. Over there, housing is seen as a real commodity. In Tokyo, housing is torn down and replaced with newer stock all the time, often without any additional occupancy. Houses in Japan do not appreciate the way they do in the rest of the Western world.

Indeed, I am a bit puzzled by the recent articles claiming Japan is housing heaven. There are a few things to keep in mind w.r.t. housing in Japan, and especially in Tokyo:1. Buying houses is still very expensive. One of the reason it is "affordable" is because mortgages are low.2. Housing is not a capital asset in Japan, but effectively a consumable good. As soon as you buy a house, the value get depreciated. I don't know the current numbers, but 10 years ago, the va

Japan does not have the same house affordability problem. Houses and rent are low compared to most 1st world countries (not including the «luxury» accommodation).Japanese houses are pulled down and rebuilt from scratch every 20-30 years, and concrete buildings last 40-50 years before being torn down, which provides a deterrent from the housing being used as a nest egg. Then there are also cultural nuances where the Japanese people prefer new over old, hence holding on to an old house is uncom

Japan got burned by real estate investments in the 80s and now real estate isn't considered an investment, so housing in even Tokyo is affordable. It also helps that housing structures are considered as a deprecating asset, to be rebuilt every 30-40 years.

Japan has a declining population, housing is cheaper in places with declining populations. Additionally, housing in Japan is often much lower quality than it is in the US, where they use electric heaters and various other plug in amenities rather than ones that are built as a part of the unit.

Japan has a fundamentally different take on housing due to several reasons.Essentially, the way society view housing is different - buildings are more akin to consumer goods like cars. Housing value is tied to the standards of the steucture and the cost of maintenance in addition to its location, etc. As building codes improve and new buildings become more robust to earthquakes and other natural disasters, older buildings drop in value. In some cases the house would have no value beyond the v

single family housing is not an investment in japan, they tear down and rebuild. https://robbreport.com/shelter/home-design/japanese-homes-ar...

Japanese homes are disposable like trailers in the USA. They are often demolished and fully replaced after 20 years or changing hands. So yes, investing in a disposable thing would yield poor results.

This is a ridiculous article. The housing market in Japan is drastically different than the US. Notably most people don't live in nor buy used houses. When you buy a house it's with the intent to tear it down and build a new house.The houses are built cheaply with minimal insulation and no internal air (every room is heated/cooled independently, if at all, often with gas burning heaters that emit the exhaust directly into the room). When the wind blows it blows through the buil

In Japan, except for certain areas in the top major metros, only land has value. Buildings lose value over the life of a 30 year mortgage due to the changing nature of earthquake regulations for buildings. It will almost always be cheaper to tear down and build new than retrofit. Its also why Japan has very creative residential architecture- owners can build what they want without caring about resale.Many non Japanese who are buying in Japan without understanding this fundamentally different