ManWithAPlan
Registered
- 19 Aug 2014
- 23
- 3
- 18
There's rarely a day that goes by where I don't come home to find leaflets crammed into my letter box offering the latest plots of land or new housing developments near my apartment. So a few months ago I decided to spend some of my free time really looking into the housing market in my current area. It was more for curiosity than genuine interest as I plan on moving to a completely different city in a few years anyway, but I am still interested in what you can get for your money here.
I found a few blogs detailing the experiences of a couple of foreigners and their experiences of contracting an agency or an independent builder to build their own houses here, but I have yet to come across a blog where someone has renovated an older Japanese house. I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why some of the older houses I come across are being not renovated, but torn down and having a new house built in its place. It seems logical that houses which are falling apart be demolished, but there are plenty of houses here that were only built in the 80's or 90's being torn down. Most of them just need to be modernized and renovated.
I came saw a house near my apartment a few months ago that was being sold. The plot of land was pretty big, and the house was built in the early 90's, but the asking price was just a few million ¥, whereas that same house in the UK would be 20 times the price. Then right around the corner there was an house built on a plot about half that of the first one, and the price there was close to ¥30m. After a bit of research I figured that with some renovation, structural work and maintenance, the house could be as good as new with about half the budget of the newer but smaller house. I get that Japanese people love 'new' things, but surely the massive difference in price would encourage more people to renovate instead of rebuild, right?
There are also a few home improvement shows here, so there is obviously some interest that people have in renovation.
Also, earthquake regulations count for part of the reason, but there are still houses that could pass the inspections here which are still torn down. Even many older houses only need to be updated with minor improvements to pass most inspections, so what is it? Are people really keen on renovating houses and I just am not able to hear about it, or is there some regulation or issue that I am missing that makes it impossible to do so?
I am genuinely curious as it seems like such an obvious idea to me, yet most people are choosing to build new houses instead. If anyone has any information or opinions they want to share, that would be great.
I found a few blogs detailing the experiences of a couple of foreigners and their experiences of contracting an agency or an independent builder to build their own houses here, but I have yet to come across a blog where someone has renovated an older Japanese house. I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why some of the older houses I come across are being not renovated, but torn down and having a new house built in its place. It seems logical that houses which are falling apart be demolished, but there are plenty of houses here that were only built in the 80's or 90's being torn down. Most of them just need to be modernized and renovated.
I came saw a house near my apartment a few months ago that was being sold. The plot of land was pretty big, and the house was built in the early 90's, but the asking price was just a few million ¥, whereas that same house in the UK would be 20 times the price. Then right around the corner there was an house built on a plot about half that of the first one, and the price there was close to ¥30m. After a bit of research I figured that with some renovation, structural work and maintenance, the house could be as good as new with about half the budget of the newer but smaller house. I get that Japanese people love 'new' things, but surely the massive difference in price would encourage more people to renovate instead of rebuild, right?
There are also a few home improvement shows here, so there is obviously some interest that people have in renovation.
Also, earthquake regulations count for part of the reason, but there are still houses that could pass the inspections here which are still torn down. Even many older houses only need to be updated with minor improvements to pass most inspections, so what is it? Are people really keen on renovating houses and I just am not able to hear about it, or is there some regulation or issue that I am missing that makes it impossible to do so?
I am genuinely curious as it seems like such an obvious idea to me, yet most people are choosing to build new houses instead. If anyone has any information or opinions they want to share, that would be great.