I agree. Great job. 9:09 If you watch this video and are considering buying an old house or have one built. - Check the market and give it a year or so if you are not in a hurry. You might get incredible deals on old houses in prestige condition. The price difference between new and old maybe huge, especially if you are OK with settling in a more rural area of Japan.
The fact that you have to pay more for land with no buildings on it explains so much! I was always wondering why there were so many old (and creepy) houses still standing around. This made me think, because in Germany, when a building won't be used in the forseeable future, it usually gets demonlished. After some digging I found out that in Germany you actually have to pay less taxes if there's no building/house/whatever on your land, which I guess is why people demolish them as soon as possible and leave the land bare until they find someone who's willing to buy it! Thanks for sharing, this is really interesting!!
It's a ridiculous idea. People should be rewarded for upgrading a house to new or demolishing an old house. It's insane people are taxed more for doing the right thing.
My windows in my home in Japan (built in 2009) are triple pane. And the walls, in addition to being insulated for cooling and heating, are also insulated for sound.
its because most gaijins dont understand all the rules that comes with renting or leasing in Japan, they don't feel safe if you can't even read all the instructions and rules.
@@snarkylive You say racism right away. Actually a lot of owners are really worried about rent collection from foreigners. I wondr how much you know the reality. Seems Japanese common sense does not apply to them. I never ever want to lend to you because you will immediately say racism for self-justification. penguinpenguin.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/02/17/213340
"I am not lending to foreigners because I don't trust foreigners" is clearly and obviously xenophobia. There is no way to make it sound pretty unless you lie.
@@e.hanker193 Japan also has constant smaller earthquakes (mag 2-4ish) that can be felt and shake buildings a bit but not cause noticeable damage. There are usually several of those a year in any region. Over time, the building materials will become fatigued and may no longer be structurally safe. Wood is more flexible than brick and mortar, so they are more suitable for locations where structural vibration is a serious consideration.
Really interesting video. We actually bought an abandoned farmhouse in rural Japan, and when deciding to whether to buy it or not went through a lot of the thoughts you described (although you explained it so much more clearly than I did in my head). We bought it for the size of the land (1400m2), primarily - the 30 year old building was deemed worthless by the valuers. We've been told the house would have cost around 50 million yen to build. We will renovate the home (and it won't be cheap!)
Most Japanese homes have always been made out of wood, even during the 50-60’s when Japan’s population growth was skyrocketing due to the boomer generation, so the background info, that Japan’s housing market is the way it is because of decreasing population, is a load of crap. Lots of earthquakes is a better explanation why Japan’s houses are mostly made out of wood. MY BIGGEST CRITIQUE: Author does not touch on how Japanese banks evaluate the value of pre-owned homes. The way Japanese banks evaluate home value when giving out loans for pre-owned homes is a better explanation for why home values don’t rise. Japanese banks evaluate a pre-owned home’s loanable value as the price of the land minus the price of tearing down the building EVEN IF THE BUILDING IS TOTALLY FINE. What this creates is a disincentive for people to invest in the improvement of their homes because even if they did the bank will not credit them for the improvements, and the next owner would not be able to get a big enough bank loan to cover 100% of the pre-owned home’s selling price, SO THE NEW BUYER NEEDS TO PUT UP ADDITIONAL CASH EQUITY to buy a pre-owned home. Contrast this to brand new homes where banks will give you a loan for 100% of the selling price. This goes a long way in explaining why Japanese banks have a bias towards lending for buyers of newly built houses. This also means there is an opportunity to buy very high quality reinforced concrete homes IF YOU HAVE CASH AND DON’T NEED A BANK LOAN.
You're all saying that concrete houses are so durable, forgetting that wood houses can also last for centuries, ours is 70, built with used materials and still going strong, my aunt's is almost 200. Wood can be durable
your grandma house endures several earth quakes per year? + several typhoons per year?+ cold winters ? + city laws that change because of the natural occurring disasters EVERYYEAR?
Depends on the quality of the wood, type of wood, and of course the kind of natural disasters it has to face over the years. Japan is famous for it's earthquakes...
Wow, very interesting indeed. In Australia, owning your own home is seen as an achievement and a place for you to live until you're no longer able to, or until your life changes. To see how the real estate market works in Japan, you certainly wouldn't want to go into the market as a speculator, unless your prime business was demolishing and rebuilding then on-selling.
I find in hard to understand how the mortgage providers deal with giving out substantial loans on properties which, as I read, have a diminishing value (apartments) or houses with limited life span. Do they have enough equity to cover their high risks ? How long are the usual mortgages for a house?
I think the price went down is good things. the market in Australia gone mad. I am very luck that I did not follow the speculator advise. I bought one give me positive income and no need to worry
As much as I love your more family life in Japan videos, I have absolutely loved this video! It had so much information and explained and laid out so well! I've loved all your housing videos and can't wait for more in the future (if you have any planned).
As an American student in japan, I paid maybe $30-$50 USD for doctor visit and prescription for strep throat. I know that’s not a detailed description of their healthcare. Just a little insight on what you could expect to pay if you get a common illness. 😀
MrWalker1000 I wasn’t saying anything was special. Just trying to offer insight on what somebody might possible pay if they get sick there without Japanese insurance.
I bought 4 houses all built in the 70s in Japan and they are all still structurally sound, so the 30 year thing seems to be BS and a scare tactic to get people to buy new homes. Yeah they aren't new or perfect, but some renovations and you can have some pretty decent homes at a very affordable price.
I wonder if it isn't something like how all the expiration dates for food at grocery stores are generally much earlier than the point where the food would actually go bad.
eBenkyou - Actually he did not say that these houses were structurally unsound after 30 years and therefore needed to be torn down. He simply said that most homes end up being torn down by the time they are 30 years old, and this is true. There are many reasons for this and I’m sure these reasons rarely have anything to do with the structural integrity of the homes. Of course, no house ever really NEEDS to be torn down. It’s just a matter of how much it cost to keep it in good condition. Eventually though it will be more cost effective to build an entirely new house than to keep upgrading the old one, and usually the only reason people don’t do this is for sentimental reasons. Furthermore as sky high as land prices are in the heart of Tokyo it would be almost stupid to keep an old house on a lot that might be with millions of dollars. And unless you are a multi-millionaire yourself I’m guessing that your houses are in the countryside, or if in the Tokyo area, they are way out on the outskirts of Tokyo, such as in Chiba prefecture.
I think its a perception thing with not just Japanese but most Asian nations - they probably want something that is new. I suspect there is not much of a second hand car market in Japan as well.
True. I buy older houses and rent them out. The politicians here are in thrall to the construction industry so all legislation favours new versus old construction.
Happy to hear you have 4 homes in Japan but why would one need more than 2-3 homes? I understand primary home and vacation home and possibly a workplace apartment, but 4th?
@@niter43 Japan's population is literally 126 *million* people living on an island that's only a bit larger than California... Just listing the "peak population density" says almost nothing, and it's not particularly relevant either seeing as how NYC and Paris are also quite overcrowded themselves.
@@CreedK yet people live in NYC and Paris at their will, not because it's a necessity. Tokyo isn't any worse, it's natural/typical "overcrowdness". Other places than Tokyo are only less dense. If you we talk about whole country - is UK any close to being overpopulated? It's not far off from Japan. If we talk about England in particular it's ~30% higher. Yes, Japan is not that big and has big population. It's not a big problem in the age we live in though - you don't have to be food-sufficient to be in good condition, which cuts on land requirements a lot.
@@niter43 Literally none of what you said addresses anything that I said lmao. You didn't even dispute the fact that it's overcrowded, just whether it's "natural" or not. What exactly are you disagreeing about? Also no, the UK is not comparable as about half the population while being only about 50% smaller by landmass. I also live in NYC so I'm well aware of the situation, overpopulation is certainly a problem here and literally everyone knows it.
@@CreedK >You didn't even dispute the fact that it's overcrowded, just whether it's "natural" or not. They aren't overcrowded. What you need more? There's jobs, there's leisures, there's housing. Transport system seems to suck, sure, but that's fixable. All metropolises are kinda the same in regard of population density, it depends on person whether they're okay with crowds or not. You seem to not, and I'm in no right to judge that, but it's not problem with particular city. >overpopulation is certainly a problem here and literally everyone knows it. If everyone "knows it" how come nothing was done in 70 years? Population is litterally unchanged since 1950: 7.9mil; 2018: 8.4mil; so sure they knew it for a long time already. >Also no, the UK is not comparable as about half the population while being only about 50% smaller by landmass. >about half the population >only about 50% smaller by landmass But 50% smaller is being half the size. hmmmm.jpg nvm, happens to all of us, lol UK area: 242 495; population: 66,04mln; 272p/sq.km. Japan 377 973sq.km.; 126,8mln; 335p/sq.km So pretty close, yet we don't speak as UK as overpopulated; if we go for England only it's 426p/sq.km.
In my experience, logical economic thinking doesn't always apply in Japan. I live in one of the most rural prefectures and people STILL want absurd amounts of money to rent buildings that have been unused for years. In one case, a building I looked at the exterior was in terrible condition, the walls on the first floor badly needed to be replaced, the 2nd floor was never completed, and the entire place was full of junk. I was told any repairs or fixing up would have to be at my expense, as would finishing the 2nd floor, and I'd have to pay 5000 yen (about $50) a month per parking space in addition to the rent. Oh, and I'd need to pay 6 months rent in various fees to get into the building. I declined and 8 years later it's still empty. Another building I wanted the owner's wife said I was a foreigner and would probably run away so he refused to sell to me. I ended up in a better city, so it all worked out.
I worked in construction in Japan 2 years ago, low rise apartment building/town houses are build on Steel Frame, with some kind of composite cement looking exterior for walls. The only place wood is used is in the kitchen cabinets
So informative. I really appreciate that you're making the effort to cover topics that haven't already been covered over and over by dozens of other UA-cam channels.
i guess Im randomly asking but does anyone know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account? I stupidly lost the password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me
@Nasir Kyng i really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and im in the hacking process atm. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I own a home(in Japan obviously) and my neighbors, who bought a house at the same time as us, after 10 years already decided to renovate. Small stupid things that ended up costing them 12,000$. We didn't and a year later our houses look exactly the same. In Japan you do stuff not because you HAVE to but because you are EXPECTED to.
Yes and almost impossible to obtain. Foreigners are not particularly welcomed in Japan even in these more enlightened times. It is, after, all a very closed & controlled homogenious society
Is your house and neighbor's house the exact same age and design? Are they terrace houses? Maybe they reformed because it's actually really old on the inside? Moving in at the same time as someone doesn't mean much. We're planning on moving into a house that is quite old. Looks so pretty and surrounded by other nice houses but doesn't mean I have to put up with the really old plumbing and outdated kitchen just because I don't want my nosey neighbors to think I'm wasting my money that they didn't help make.
Interesting you mention wood being the issue, but yet most of the oldest homes here in Scandinavia are made of wood and many centuries old. I currently live myself in a 100 year old wooden house and I am sure it could last another century if maintained and as long as city officials does not end up bulldozing this area to replace it with something else. Besides poor building practices and lack of maintaince I think natural disasters like you said is the main reason.
They are just wood framed houses. Scandinavian wood houses in the countryside are solid treated wood I believe. Interesting discussion and would like to hear more about different wood constructions standards & practices.
I'm surprised steel stud construction isn't used. Won't rot or get eaten by bugs and has better tensile strength so it can sway in earthquakes. Kinda more expensive but not by much.
Greg, I’ve watched this episode 3 times and really enjoy your well researched , high quality productions. It’s very informative, pulling back the curtains to real world facts that others on YT rarely if at all cover and it’s unbiased/ independent to boot. Your work adds significant quality to what’s on YT. I wouldn’t worry too much about the relative low numbers; you’ll get up there and stay there with a broad based audience who are looking for quality albeit with an older demographic.
i always found this phenomenon amazing. i had a work colleague who came to USA for a two year visit, and he was shocked when i described how house values go up in North America (and i was equally shocked to learn his house will be "worthless" in 30 years. we discussed why and how it was different, and hit on some of the points you mentioned. he also described how new/unopened/pristine items (even a house) carry increased value to Japanese individuals.
what an interesting video. Currently here in southern Ontario, our housing prices have almost doubled of what they used to be 4 years ago. There are so few houses on the market that it is completely insane. It's basically impossible to buy a house without a huge amount of debt. A large contributing factor is foreign investments which I am starting to despise since it is making it impossible for me to move out and get my own place. This is also affecting rent prices which are the highest they have ever been and are absolutely ridiculous. So when you said that 3 apartment units were vacant in a few random apartment buildings I was shocked compared to how things are where I live in southern Ontario.
even worse in London UK and surrounding counties. Often no resident investors from China, Russia, Gulf & Arab countries, very wealthy Europeans, Turks. Minimum price for small dull flat/condo in undesirable London area count on $800,000 plus purchase fees !! Its hell for first time buyers there
Same thing in Amsterdam or any city in the Netherlands. Prices are skyrocketing, even government is reeling in foreign investments. Meanwhile Amsterdam is full of social housing, and nobody is moving. Even if they are, they overprice it. Add to that that very few houses are built, and if they are then it is a foreign funded project with triple the costs, and you are not allowed to get as high a mortgage as before. Starters are in the worst position: they cant get a mortgage or they have to live so far away from their work that you'd have a 3/4 hr commute each day. Meanwhile, rent goes up as well, and there is even a lack of middle-class rent: it is either topnotch or you need to wait 10+ years to get your low rent social house. It's absurd.
The concept of an "expiration date" for an unused building after 30 years is a good way of preventing urban super-sprawl, the kind that can damage land and its use in the long run.
If the building is 30 years old and left abandoned for say longer than 6 months, the city could claim eminent domain, buy the land off the owner for pennies on the dollar, and redevelop it. This gives the owner of the land an incentive to get off their arse and do something with it, rather than letting their property become an eye sore for the neighbourhood. Even if the city turns the plot into a park or garden, that still beautifies the area, making the area more desirable and hopefully increasing land value as demand goes up. I bought a house for cheap in a counsel housing estate here in NL. When I bought it for 98k, people told me I was crazy because of the neighbourhood it is in. But now that the counsel has gotten rid of the worst chav families, and sold those houses, rather than putting them up for subsidized rent again, the neighbourhood has gotten a lot better. The same type of house that I bought for 98k now sells for almost 138k. Only because the reputation of the neighbourhood has improved.
I think you're conflating the two points made in this video. One is that Japan's home have, or used to have, a 30 year 'expiration' because of poor build quality. The other is that homes are sitting vacant for a variety of reasons. It's not that people are abandoning homes after 30 years is up.
How is a home taxed in Japan? I expect homes built 35-40 years ago are not up to snuff compared to homes built today. These newer homes compare well if not better to modern townhouses in the west.
This may not have been one of the most exciting videos, and it must have been REALLY hard to film with all that footage. But man, was this one of the best and most insightful. Thank you for putting in such great work in every process, from filming to editing. Now excuse me while I hop over to Patreon. :P
I have been waiting for this video since I wondered about topic and this was a thorough explanation. Thanks. BTW, if anybody else made this same video, it would have been boring! Maybe not for young kids, but very interesting to me.
I think it missed one question: if they got rid of all the abandoned houses in the smaller towns and resold the land, wouldn't that make the land prices completely collapse? What would that do for intrest rates for people currently paying off mortgages? Other than that, I agree.
Owning a home really shouldn't be "an investment" because plumbing, wiring, and the building itself wear out, even if a home is built well. Moreover, it really shouldn't be an investment in a country like the US, where there are more empty houses than there homeless, with more houses being built every day. Ironically, the practice of making a perfectly sealed building for energy efficiency actually makes the degradation problem worse. Once that envelop is penetrated, the water has nowhere to go, causing the wood to rot much faster. This is even worse for buildings that use a lot of OSB and MDF, because those alternatives to plywood tend to do very poorly around moisture. Also, metal roofs can be problematic, because once that seal is broken(typically at the screw points), they also will trap water and even funnel into places where it can do a lot of damage over time. All that said, if I were to buy a house in Japan, I'd try to get one used. Sure, it's harder to get a loan for, but the taxes on it would be far less ultimately. Getting something in that 22-30 year range seems ideal because they're up to good enough standards and have already been tried and tested. Plus, I'm an American with construction experience, so I can generally fix things up, even if it's just little by little.
Land and buildings are only a good investment if you don't borrow to buy them. Interest on a mortgage means that your property needs to double in value for you to break even when you sell it.
Houses r good investment if u buy it new and also have great location. In my country, condos r worthless. People want freehold landed with a good location. My parents invested in some. They didn't rent it so they don't have to buy furnitures. They take loan cuz no money. They hold the house for a few years and sell it. Invest in houses where u know people actually *want* it. It's limited
I've been thinking about this. The idea of a house being short lived makes me kind of sad. But then again, I live in an 100 year old house, that has quite a few problems, and has modifications of various quality from various times, which means it's not really suited to modern life all that well. As long as it's done sensibly, perhaps keeping housing up to date is sensible. New build housing in the UK isn't always of great quality though. I lived in a very new flat a while ago, and it had some really big issues!
Your videos are always so interesting! I would love if you could make more films on housing, maybe about restoring/buying/maintaining ancient or really old houses. I've heard that a good portion of people buying/living in traditional houses are actually foreigners, while many Japanese opt for a new house.
Fantastic video. I was not aware of the depreciation of homes in Japan. This made me think of a conversation that I had with a few Japanese friends (back 17 years ago). They said a mortgage period in Japan could take one, two or even three generations to pay off. Young Japanese graduates work, save their money and leave Japan because they claim it is too expensive (and too hard) to live in Tokyo. They advised it is better to save their money and buy and own a home abroad e.g. a home in North America, where homes are larger in square footage and the homes appreciate in value after time (again this was 17 years ago when North American homes were cheaper). Their statement and your video made me think, how many young Japanese people transitioned from Japan to live abroad? It certainly would have impacted Japan's population decline and increased home vacancies in Japan. Curious if there are any stats on that. Anyways, thanks for the great video. I could not stop watching it. :O)
ONLY in ANTARCTICA I assume you talked them 27 years ago, not 17 years ago. Bubble economy busted in 1992 and real estate value went a serious nose dive started from that year. Even central Tokyo's real estate value went less than 1/2 by 2000. Everything is super affordable in Tokyo including real estates comparing to other major cities (like Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore or Hong Kong). So many Asians come (especially Chinese) to buy real estates in Tokyo because of the price. Other cities in Japan are even more affordable. I am from city of 2 million population in Japan and an African graduate student told me it's cheaper to study in my home town than his home town (he was from Nairobi).
Agree. There is now very little Japanese immigration (as opposed to the 19th century to US, South America) On top of that even those wanting to to do so face severe work/visa/ cultural barriers.
Like China, it's more for young people a question of lifestyle and the stress load. In HK student returning will work six days a week with Sunday as a family day. Not much room for lifestyle. My wife and her sister/husband all graduated from T.I.T. (Tokyo Institute of Technology). The couple works in Minneapolis for 3M and my wife lives in Vancouver with her own business. Japans' loss. (T.I.T. is a boys only University, and very prestigious). My wife and her sister were foreign students and therefore exempt from Japan's discrimination against female students. fyi
All homes need maintenance to stay standing. 30 years is a basic asphalt shingle roof. I'd love for run down homes like these to be this cheap in the US. Thanks to physical size of Japan, you can get end to end even by car very quickly. It's not exactly a short drive going from Bangor Maine to South Central LA.... Would love to take one of these run down homes. But there is no way I'd deal with Japan's social customs.
Hahaha! I used some of the footage for my Patreon behind-the-scenes as well. I don't think I have any more of the footage left to use. I need to go out into the countryside and get some more footage! Maybe Gunma ;-)
If I may make a correction, at min 8:40 you say Shinto's religion Ise Grand Shrine, some portions (actually the grand shrine) is rebuilt every 20 years. which is correct, however you explain that this is part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature, etc. No, this rebuilt is done every 20 years so that the knowledge of how the shrine is built will be passed from one generation to another before those who know pass away. This is the historically correct explanation. Good video though, really informative. Keep up the good work. I subscribed!
Interesting top and a great eye-opener. Especially, like you here in British Columbia (BC), investing in real estate is of the highest caliber. My son (Canadian) wondered why his wife (Japanese) was only looking at new built homes instead of those beautiful older Japanese homes. We have love the history behind the older home and thought the prices were excellent, PLUS you can always renovate as we have done here in Canada. But you explained this explicitly as to why its better to invest in a new building than the older home. Now, they have decided to live in an apartment for a while until my son gets familiar with living in Japan. Thank you! Looking forward to the continuation of the home purchases in Nippon.
I don’t understand the Japanese thinking. Per this vlog, buildings codes are very strict for homes built within the last 25 years. I own one and it’s better built than homes in the US. With proper maintenance they’ll last well over a hundred years. And the Japanese craftsmen do such a wonderful job remodeling homes at a fraction of the cost. I think the mindset is the problem. A large percentage of the population want their own home and that means new.
@@starmax1000 Ever hear of trickle down economics? It's a popular belief shared amongst many Americans, so it must work very well. Slash already low taxes, so the people(corporations) make more money to buy basic commodities for themselves.
AMD1 if the government in general isn’t that trusted for it’s basic services like clean water and proper roads imagine the hell it would be if any random company is expected to do such things on its own
When I did work in construction as my first job. We build wooden frames with fire proof wood "treated wood" if it did fire burned at higher temperature or long enough it would start to burn. And we still had to insulate the frame. Earthquake proof a lot of things to. In southern California there are many rules to follow.
Nice video Greg, I am always impressed by how quick Japan rebuilds itself, especially after a disaster (I visited the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake museum in Kobe, amazing how quick everything was built again). Question: would apartments that are being rented airbnb-style (short/seasonal term) be considered as vacant? Maybe that is a reason for the larger number?
Good question. Since airbnb is a relatively new thing, my feeling is that it hasn't been factored into the latest statistics. As far as I know, hotels and minpaku are not included in vacancy numbers, but I could be wrong. What I have heard though, is that vacancies in hotels are quite low, meaning they need more rooms.
Thank You. Yeah, I meant more in general (even before Airbnb), with seasonal rentals and such, that must fill quite a lot of rooms in the Summer and Winter, but not so much the rest of the year. Curious about the Hotels, Japan seems to have a quite high variety of places to stay (including different types of hotels), I guess the same issue occurs in Summer and Winter, too much demand from travelers.
I think the AirBnB market in Japan would make an interesting follow-up video, since the Japanese government just passed a law legalizing it (on June 9th 2017).
Legalized with conditions. The maximum amount of time you can have a room available for AirBnb and similar services in Japan is 180 days (local municipalities can shorten this length, and individual HOAs can also ban them within a certain apartment building). This is actually better than some other countries that have regulated it. You do need to register with the local government, There are other rules, such as displaying a clear sign in public, keeping the place clean, and providing authorities with a list of guests coming and going. Failure to do this can result in fines or even imprisonment.
+Facundo R - Sadly, recovery still goes on for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku Event. I would say it will be another 10 years before they fully recover in some areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures.
bigger buildings need to be built to support a larger population. why would you build houses on an island that has half of the US population on it. the population is declining because of 2 major reasons; its expensive to raise children in the city, and people can't meet to start a family if they are working 100 hour work weeks.
Wrong. But not completely Child birth rates are falling all across the western world. Not just japan. So if you want to explain how some slob working fast food for 30 hours a week is working 100 hours a week, go ahead.
Not all Japanese work crazy long hours. The living is expensive but taking all into account if is comparable. The family tend to help much more, especially with raising kids. The problem is the same in most European countries. So you are right with the specific facts, but I would say there is more issues than that. The population was growing faster in the previous centuries where people`s lives were worse. Obviously this is oversimplification as well.
Japanese don't by used stuff because they sell the used stuff at almost the same freaken price as the new one. Love going to flee markets and find an old "Louis Vitton" bags with holes. The owner payed 200$ for it and it is a "brand" bag so you can have it for the low low price of 150$! What a deal! Same goes for cars, houses and basically eveything. Great for the sellers though!
interesting comment I find. Maybe interesting in UK the rule of thumb is that if you sell something second hand you are content to receive a third of purchase price (often less these days). However, in France they are in the habit of "overvaluing their "bien" goods and aim for 50% or more ! Its greed of course and they often have problems or very long delays selling their unwanted goods. Same applies to homes & vehicles. They are completely unrealistic.
3:31 - to translate the Shindo scale to the Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale: Shindo 5-/5+ is about MMI 5-6 on the MMI scale. Shindo 6-/6+ is about 7-8 on the MMI scale. Shindo 7 is 9 and up on the MMI scale.
This is good news as I’m going to be looking to purchase a house in Japan soon, something that was IMPOSSIBLE for me to afford in America. I just found your channel and have been watching your “living in Japan” videos so much I decided to subscribe. Looking forward to watching more!
And then the natives complain about how little money they have in their pockets. And what do they propose to be the solution? That's right, MORE government programs, and higher taxes! Ay-yi-yi!
Where we live in Tokyo theres a few abandoned houses on our walk to the station. It really bothers me how much of a waste it is of a perfectly good home. In countries like England we all are fighting for space. Its interesting how different it is...
Both Countries don’t have much room, Japan Is decreasing In population while England Is Increasing In It, Japan ai’nt really gianing any space with all of The stupid foreigner’s Going Into It, I need room for a new house There, It being my native home Country.
@Craig Schultz No but think about the persistence of unused homes. We talk about homelessness in both US and Japan, as though we need to build new homes, but given there are so many that are unoccupied it makes me wonder if we already have homes for them, they just can't get in to them.
@@redryan20000 as someone who fits the federal definition of homeless I can tell you the two things that have held me back are low wages due to lack of education (or rather the lack of money to pay for a degree) and the fact that a single bedroom apartment is 1800 a month where I live while minimum wage is 7.25 per hour and average wage is 10-13 dollars an hour. Even with my wife and I working full-time we wouldn't be able to afford the utilities on top of the rent. The lack of degree makes it so we can only take low pay jobs while rich Californians move in demolish old houses and build town homes and luxury apartments that locals cannot afford. I can't afford to rent a shithole apartment in my home town. I now face having to migrate to an area with lower cost of living to even be able to afford a single bedroom apartment.
@@RageUnchained I could only advise moving away. Somewhere that costs 1800 dollars is probably just unfeasible and there are plenty of great places in the country other than the handful of mega cities.
@@redryan20000 we have to move, we know this. But since companies are hesitant to Hire people out of state finding work or even building a decent enough savings to do so is also difficult.
We just bought a house in Japan and faced the same issues. There was a used house we liked, but the broker pointed out the "old-school" foundation vs the modern foundation of the new house we were also considering. (It's so new, the street doesn't even appear on Google Maps which makes pizza and package delivery an issue.) The new house, though, has insulation and double paned windows. Just in case, we have a 17 year mortgage and own the land, which not all Japanese homeowners do, so hopefully we can resell easily if we need to.
The fact that you call it a "used" house clearly spells it out, as if the house is all used up. It's cultural. No one calls them "used houses" in America; they're just "houses", or old houses. Used is for something like a napkin.
I worked as electrician of Japan few years ago, worked on low rise and townhouses. All of them were build with still frames, and cement-fiber siding, very little wood was used, even all the framing studs were steel.
Dude im from chile the earthquake from japan are just vibrations for us, in my city, valparaiso, we got houses that surpases the age of 100 years and they are made of adobe (mix of mud and hay) and they are in almost perfect shape, so i think that they demolish the houses more from comodity. Great chanel keep the good vids
There is houses in the USA that has been around since the 1600s and 1700s. There is plenty from the 1800s. While newer houses today don't last simply due to poor construction and poor construction materials. Like many cheaper houses here have poor roofs poorly put on or wasn't put on right. And this is the death of most homes since owners don't know to look for things like that, how to fix it, or if someone is messing them over. As far as abandon buildings. It doesn't matter if the material was wood or brick. No abandon building be worth while after a 10-40 years. In the desert it is a bit longer, but they will even fall over.
Thanks for another very insightful, thought-provoking and interesting video! There are so many implications with the decline of the birth rate in Japan. I'd never even thought of how it is impacting the housing market and land value. Wow.
The issue with unsold rental units in Tokyo is xenophobia! I made reservations online at three different apartment building offices in Tokyo. Then, once I was there, no one would rent to me because I am American. It was the 2008 financial crisis and people were being laid off and killing themselves in the streets and I was seen as an outsider. I was told I needed to leave Japan right then, even though I had a valid visa. Japanese xenophobia is something that is rarely talked about because it is effectively swept under the rug by the government, because it would negatively effect the tourism money they get. I wanted to live in Japan with all of my heart, but now that I see what type of racist people they are, I only pity them and hope they grow up into a more accepting society. That is their only hope for success in their future. I'm pulling for them!
I've been living here for 15 years and I can tell you that as a whole the Japanese are not frightened of us, although you can find individuals in Japan as in any country that are xenophobic. I know many foreigners who rent apartments in Tokyo, so not sure why you had this problem. You said you had a valid visa....a 90 day tourist visa? You sure you weren't at, or close to, 90 days? If you had a real Visa with a year or more duration to live here the real estate agency wouldn't be able to make you leave. So don't just blame your situation on racism. That said, they do control their country, including immigration, very tightly and in my opinion, very well - which is one reason I love living here. I think Japan will have to open it's doors to more immigration in the next 20 years but when they do it will be legal immigration and well controlled. Not like the mess we have in the US right now.
Wow, well done and well researched. The construction industry has been a big contributing factor in making people believe that houses only last 30 years. It's amazing that bureaucrats can't fugure out that of the taxes increase 6 fold after demolishing a house nobody in their right mind is going to remove the abandoned houses. I bought a 25 year old house a few years ago and sold it a few years later for double the price. I completely renovated it and brought it to modern earthquake standards. I also put insulation in it making it very energy efficient, the new owners are very happy and so am I. I'm working on my second house now. While I was renovating my house, the neighbours had their house rebuilt, it was less than 20 years old. Why?
In Taiwan, (In the short time I've been there) we have homes made from solid cement. You know how there are people who can punch into walls online? Yeah... try that in Taiwan straight into the cement walls and you'll end up with a shattered forearm. It makes sense that houses need to be made with a lot more support in earthquake prone countries :P In Australia, (where I live now) we have wooden frames and cement foundations.
This is a fascinating video, I knew nothing about any of this. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into making these, i really appreciate it.
The traditional architecture and design of Japanese homes is mesmerizing. I am completely taken by it. This video has been most helpful! It's my dream to buy an abandoned traditional Japanese house in the countryside and restore it. And now that I know what I do about the land, I would want to buy a home in demolishable condition, demolish it, and then plant agriculture on the land creating a garden.
zoji rushi There is no reason to fell sorry for that, after all they are the ones who don't wan't to have proper health care, because that is what communists do.
zoji rushi actually I would prefere the US healthcare model. I live in a country that has mandatory monthly payments for health insurance and the quality of care is garbage and usualy they dont even try to find out what is wrong with you'r health.
I noticed that too. It's not really a lie, but a misconception about how averages work. The average life expectancy was so low because of high child mortality rates. If you survived past a certain age, your chances of getting old increased significantly.
Informative video !! I'm not sure everyone would like it, but I would be interested in a video about the construction process of a house. Perhaps visit the factory where they make the prefabricated components and then show some aspects of building the house. On the other hand it could take a lot of effort to organize and film. Do they have any tv shows in Japan like "Mike Holmes" ? Perhaps since the houses just get torn down rather than renovated and flipped, there isn't much scope for dodgy building practices.
I really appreciate the amount of research that must have gone into this video. It's so interesting! Thank you!
Good insightful comment
I agree. This is the kind of video that only Greg can make. And the reason I support this channel on Patreon. I hope he makes more videos like this.
moron. look up a couple things on wikipedia and inject some anecdotes. What an incredibly dull video.
Only impressive for mindless morons like you.
bobsagget823 Watch The name Calling or you’ll Get reported.
I agree. Great job.
9:09 If you watch this video and are considering buying an old house or have one built. - Check the market and give it a year or so if you are not in a hurry. You might get incredible deals on old houses in prestige condition. The price difference between new and old maybe huge, especially if you are OK with settling in a more rural area of Japan.
The fact that you have to pay more for land with no buildings on it explains so much! I was always wondering why there were so many old (and creepy) houses still standing around.
This made me think, because in Germany, when a building won't be used in the forseeable future, it usually gets demonlished. After some digging I found out that in Germany you actually have to pay less taxes if there's no building/house/whatever on your land, which I guess is why people demolish them as soon as possible and leave the land bare until they find someone who's willing to buy it!
Thanks for sharing, this is really interesting!!
WolkeYume sounds like a better system in Germany
This is also how property taxes work in MOST places in the United States.
The fact that abandoned homes in the USA tend to become crack houses is a strong motivation to tear them down. Japan does not have this problem.
It's a ridiculous idea. People should be rewarded for upgrading a house to new or demolishing an old house. It's insane people are taxed more for doing the right thing.
Wow, you're really learning stuff aren't you!
My windows in my home in Japan (built in 2009) are triple pane. And the walls, in addition to being insulated for cooling and heating, are also insulated for sound.
Triple pane...do you live in Hokkaido?
No, Tokyo. That's getting to be standard for new construction in Japan.
井上エイド probably very expensive?
We have the same here in Sweden. 3-pane windows are actually really common. Nice to get an insight into your life tho! Thank you.
井上エイド I still like the traditional houses the most
It surprising that the vacancy of apartments in Tokyo is so high considering how hard they make it for foreigners to get a lease.
because foreign residents sometimes escape without paying rent.
its because most gaijins dont understand all the rules that comes with renting or leasing in Japan, they don't feel safe if you can't even read all the instructions and rules.
@@freekitten00 That's an issue in a lot of places unfortunately
@@snarkylive You say racism right away.
Actually a lot of owners are really worried about rent collection from foreigners.
I wondr how much you know the reality.
Seems Japanese common sense does not apply to them.
I never ever want to lend to you because you will immediately say racism for self-justification.
penguinpenguin.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/02/17/213340
"I am not lending to foreigners because I don't trust foreigners" is clearly and obviously xenophobia. There is no way to make it sound pretty unless you lie.
Meanwhile in Europe :
300 years old house get renovated again over and over
Because
Stone is rock hard
@Porco Rosso It isn't as if Europe doesn't experience major earthquakes as well tho.
@@e.hanker193 Japan also has constant smaller earthquakes (mag 2-4ish) that can be felt and shake buildings a bit but not cause noticeable damage. There are usually several of those a year in any region. Over time, the building materials will become fatigued and may no longer be structurally safe. Wood is more flexible than brick and mortar, so they are more suitable for locations where structural vibration is a serious consideration.
@@e.hanker193 Europe rarely experiences major earthquakes. Those are the facts.
Japan has building that are very old too and often warning marks that says dont build South of this line because there tsunami happens :p
Same in the states. My parents home was built in 1889.
Really interesting video. We actually bought an abandoned farmhouse in rural Japan, and when deciding to whether to buy it or not went through a lot of the thoughts you described (although you explained it so much more clearly than I did in my head). We bought it for the size of the land (1400m2), primarily - the 30 year old building was deemed worthless by the valuers. We've been told the house would have cost around 50 million yen to build. We will renovate the home (and it won't be cheap!)
Most Japanese homes have always been made out of wood, even during the 50-60’s when Japan’s population growth was skyrocketing due to the boomer generation, so the background info, that Japan’s housing market is the way it is because of decreasing population, is a load of crap. Lots of earthquakes is a better explanation why Japan’s houses are mostly made out of wood.
MY BIGGEST CRITIQUE: Author does not touch on how Japanese banks evaluate the value of pre-owned homes.
The way Japanese banks evaluate home value when giving out loans for pre-owned homes is a better explanation for why home values don’t rise. Japanese banks evaluate a pre-owned home’s loanable value as the price of the land minus the price of tearing down the building EVEN IF THE BUILDING IS TOTALLY FINE. What this creates is a disincentive for people to invest in the improvement of their homes because even if they did the bank will not credit them for the improvements, and the next owner would not be able to get a big enough bank loan to cover 100% of the pre-owned home’s selling price, SO THE NEW BUYER NEEDS TO PUT UP ADDITIONAL CASH EQUITY to buy a pre-owned home. Contrast this to brand new homes where banks will give you a loan for 100% of the selling price.
This goes a long way in explaining why Japanese banks have a bias towards lending for buyers of newly built houses. This also means there is an opportunity to buy very high quality reinforced concrete homes IF YOU HAVE CASH AND DON’T NEED A BANK LOAN.
@Automobile Addict REALLY??? 😲
You're all saying that concrete houses are so durable, forgetting that wood houses can also last for centuries, ours is 70, built with used materials and still going strong, my aunt's is almost 200. Wood can be durable
your grandma house endures several earth quakes per year? + several typhoons per year?+ cold winters ? + city laws that change because of the natural occurring disasters EVERYYEAR?
Depends on the quality of the wood, type of wood, and of course the kind of natural disasters it has to face over the years.
Japan is famous for it's earthquakes...
Wow, very interesting indeed. In Australia, owning your own home is seen as an achievement and a place for you to live until you're no longer able to, or until your life changes. To see how the real estate market works in Japan, you certainly wouldn't want to go into the market as a speculator, unless your prime business was demolishing and rebuilding then on-selling.
I find in hard to understand how the mortgage providers deal with giving out substantial loans on properties which, as I read, have a diminishing value (apartments) or houses with limited life span. Do they have enough equity to cover their high risks ? How long are the usual mortgages for a house?
Nothing wrong with keeping speculators out. Keeps it cheap.
A house is to live in.
@@thegreatdoowoper24 a mortgage is usually 30 years. Makes sense.
Plus wood houses are cheap, so mortgage payments are low anyway.
I think the price went down is good things. the market in Australia gone mad. I am very luck that I did not follow the speculator advise. I bought one give me positive income and no need to worry
Australian housing market sucks. Full of investors and money hungry bastards.
As much as I love your more family life in Japan videos, I have absolutely loved this video! It had so much information and explained and laid out so well! I've loved all your housing videos and can't wait for more in the future (if you have any planned).
Can you do a video on healthcare in Japan? I'm curious to know what I would have to do or what would happen if I got sick or hurt while in Japan.
Cliff Hanger Yasser do it🏥
can u do a video on butthols in japn im curos to no if i could get aids in jpan lik i got aids in an francisco
As an American student in japan, I paid maybe $30-$50 USD for doctor visit and prescription for strep throat. I know that’s not a detailed description of their healthcare. Just a little insight on what you could expect to pay if you get a common illness. 😀
Ashley Walters if you have insurance in the USA it's about the same price if maybe a little cheaper. What's so special about the Japanese system?
MrWalker1000 I wasn’t saying anything was special. Just trying to offer insight on what somebody might possible pay if they get sick there without Japanese insurance.
Great informational video; I like these videos just as much as your others! Keep it up Greg!
Great job with this video, you certainly taught me something and I love it.
That was fascinating - I'm really appreciating your insight and perspective. Thanks from Australia.
Funny how you talk about abandoned apartments yet I was watching a video talking about how hard it is for foreigners to rent in in japan.
I bought 4 houses all built in the 70s in Japan and they are all still structurally sound, so the 30 year thing seems to be BS and a scare tactic to get people to buy new homes. Yeah they aren't new or perfect, but some renovations and you can have some pretty decent homes at a very affordable price.
I wonder if it isn't something like how all the expiration dates for food at grocery stores are generally much earlier than the point where the food would actually go bad.
eBenkyou - Actually he did not say that these houses were structurally unsound after 30 years and therefore needed to be torn down. He simply said that most homes end up being torn down by the time they are 30 years old, and this is true. There are many reasons for this and I’m sure these reasons rarely have anything to do with the structural integrity of the homes. Of course, no house ever really NEEDS to be torn down. It’s just a matter of how much it cost to keep it in good condition. Eventually though it will be more cost effective to build an entirely new house than to keep upgrading the old one, and usually the only reason people don’t do this is for sentimental reasons. Furthermore as sky high as land prices are in the heart of Tokyo it would be almost stupid to keep an old house on a lot that might be with millions of dollars. And unless you are a multi-millionaire yourself I’m guessing that your houses are in the countryside, or if in the Tokyo area, they are way out on the outskirts of Tokyo, such as in Chiba prefecture.
I think its a perception thing with not just Japanese but most Asian nations - they probably want something that is new. I suspect there is not much of a second hand car market in Japan as well.
True. I buy older houses and rent them out. The politicians here are in thrall to the construction industry so all legislation favours new versus old construction.
Happy to hear you have 4 homes in Japan but why would one need more than 2-3 homes? I understand primary home and vacation home and possibly a workplace apartment, but 4th?
I love how informative and professional your videos are. I could see your videos being broadcast on NHK tv here in the states. Good work!
I love the look of the old houses, they've got a charm to them
For a country that is one of the most overcrowded in the world. This is such a bizzare issue. Particularly with empty homes in the countryside.
It's not really "overcrowded". Tokyo peak population density is about the same as in Paris, New York and so on.
@@niter43 Japan's population is literally 126 *million* people living on an island that's only a bit larger than California...
Just listing the "peak population density" says almost nothing, and it's not particularly relevant either seeing as how NYC and Paris are also quite overcrowded themselves.
@@CreedK yet people live in NYC and Paris at their will, not because it's a necessity. Tokyo isn't any worse, it's natural/typical "overcrowdness". Other places than Tokyo are only less dense.
If you we talk about whole country - is UK any close to being overpopulated? It's not far off from Japan. If we talk about England in particular it's ~30% higher.
Yes, Japan is not that big and has big population. It's not a big problem in the age we live in though - you don't have to be food-sufficient to be in good condition, which cuts on land requirements a lot.
@@niter43 Literally none of what you said addresses anything that I said lmao. You didn't even dispute the fact that it's overcrowded, just whether it's "natural" or not. What exactly are you disagreeing about?
Also no, the UK is not comparable as about half the population while being only about 50% smaller by landmass. I also live in NYC so I'm well aware of the situation, overpopulation is certainly a problem here and literally everyone knows it.
@@CreedK >You didn't even dispute the fact that it's overcrowded, just whether it's "natural" or not.
They aren't overcrowded. What you need more? There's jobs, there's leisures, there's housing. Transport system seems to suck, sure, but that's fixable.
All metropolises are kinda the same in regard of population density, it depends on person whether they're okay with crowds or not. You seem to not, and I'm in no right to judge that, but it's not problem with particular city.
>overpopulation is certainly a problem here and literally everyone knows it.
If everyone "knows it" how come nothing was done in 70 years? Population is litterally unchanged since 1950: 7.9mil; 2018: 8.4mil; so sure they knew it for a long time already.
>Also no, the UK is not comparable as about half the population while being only about 50% smaller by landmass.
>about half the population
>only about 50% smaller by landmass
But 50% smaller is being half the size.
hmmmm.jpg
nvm, happens to all of us, lol
UK area: 242 495; population: 66,04mln; 272p/sq.km.
Japan 377 973sq.km.; 126,8mln; 335p/sq.km
So pretty close, yet we don't speak as UK as overpopulated; if we go for England only it's 426p/sq.km.
Howcome rent is still relatively expensive if there is so much more supply than demand?
Good question, I'd love to know the answer.
Greed
Maybe taxes that come with renting out your house.
In my experience, logical economic thinking doesn't always apply in Japan. I live in one of the most rural prefectures and people STILL want absurd amounts of money to rent buildings that have been unused for years. In one case, a building I looked at the exterior was in terrible condition, the walls on the first floor badly needed to be replaced, the 2nd floor was never completed, and the entire place was full of junk. I was told any repairs or fixing up would have to be at my expense, as would finishing the 2nd floor, and I'd have to pay 5000 yen (about $50) a month per parking space in addition to the rent. Oh, and I'd need to pay 6 months rent in various fees to get into the building. I declined and 8 years later it's still empty. Another building I wanted the owner's wife said I was a foreigner and would probably run away so he refused to sell to me. I ended up in a better city, so it all worked out.
Greedy people
I worked in construction in Japan 2 years ago, low rise apartment building/town houses are build on Steel Frame, with some kind of composite cement looking exterior for walls. The only place wood is used is in the kitchen cabinets
No. Many new apartment buildings are still just wood-framed.
Wrong. There certainly are light steel-frame houses but most are 100% wood-framed.
So informative. I really appreciate that you're making the effort to cover topics that haven't already been covered over and over by dozens of other UA-cam channels.
Awesome video,Keep it up!
i guess Im randomly asking but does anyone know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account?
I stupidly lost the password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me
@Kendrick River instablaster =)
@Nasir Kyng i really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and im in the hacking process atm.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Nasir Kyng It worked and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much you saved my account!
@Kendrick River Happy to help :)
I own a home(in Japan obviously) and my neighbors, who bought a house at the same time as us, after 10 years already decided to renovate. Small stupid things that ended up costing them 12,000$. We didn't and a year later our houses look exactly the same.
In Japan you do stuff not because you HAVE to but because you are EXPECTED to.
Do you need to have a citizenship to own a house in japan?
@Tesla-EffectBut is it possible to own a house in japan without having a citizenship?
Us Japanese usually don’t spend on what we don’t need.
Yes and almost impossible to obtain. Foreigners are not particularly welcomed in Japan even in these more enlightened times. It is, after, all a very closed & controlled homogenious society
Is your house and neighbor's house the exact same age and design? Are they terrace houses? Maybe they reformed because it's actually really old on the inside? Moving in at the same time as someone doesn't mean much. We're planning on moving into a house that is quite old. Looks so pretty and surrounded by other nice houses but doesn't mean I have to put up with the really old plumbing and outdated kitchen just because I don't want my nosey neighbors to think I'm wasting my money that they didn't help make.
These videos are some of the most fascinating I've seen on UA-cam. Very cool, keep 'em coming.
Did anyone else go cross eyed at the transition at 0:19 ?
Interesting you mention wood being the issue, but yet most of the oldest homes here in Scandinavia are made of wood and many centuries old. I currently live myself in a 100 year old wooden house and I am sure it could last another century if maintained and as long as city officials does not end up bulldozing this area to replace it with something else.
Besides poor building practices and lack of maintaince I think natural disasters like you said is the main reason.
Also what is the type and width of wood used after needing a massive reconstruction.
Yeh but the wood used for houses in Japan is very thin
Japan has termites. Scandinavia being a colder climate doesn't have termites.
They are just wood framed houses. Scandinavian wood houses in the countryside are solid treated wood I believe. Interesting discussion and would like to hear more about different wood constructions standards & practices.
@@davidd7940 Also the other issue: rot. In Scandinavia, the cold climate means rot occurs more slowly. Japan is much warmer and wetter.
I'm surprised steel stud construction isn't used. Won't rot or get eaten by bugs and has better tensile strength so it can sway in earthquakes. Kinda more expensive but not by much.
So informative! Thank you!
Detailed and well researched video. Also, your editing is excellent. Great job!
Thank you for the chart, it's easy to understand, thanks Greg ! :)
Greg, I’ve watched this episode 3 times and really enjoy your well researched , high quality productions. It’s very informative, pulling back the curtains to real world facts that others on YT rarely if at all cover and it’s unbiased/ independent to boot. Your work adds significant quality to what’s on YT. I wouldn’t worry too much about the relative low numbers; you’ll get up there and stay there with a broad based audience who are looking for quality albeit with an older demographic.
This is one of the best videos I've seen on Japan made by a non-Japanese. Please keep up the good work!
i always found this phenomenon amazing. i had a work colleague who came to USA for a two year visit, and he was shocked when i described how house values go up in North America (and i was equally shocked to learn his house will be "worthless" in 30 years. we discussed why and how it was different, and hit on some of the points you mentioned. he also described how new/unopened/pristine items (even a house) carry increased value to Japanese individuals.
what an interesting video. Currently here in southern Ontario, our housing prices have almost doubled of what they used to be 4 years ago. There are so few houses on the market that it is completely insane. It's basically impossible to buy a house without a huge amount of debt. A large contributing factor is foreign investments which I am starting to despise since it is making it impossible for me to move out and get my own place. This is also affecting rent prices which are the highest they have ever been and are absolutely ridiculous. So when you said that 3 apartment units were vacant in a few random apartment buildings I was shocked compared to how things are where I live in southern Ontario.
even worse in London UK and surrounding counties. Often no resident investors from China, Russia, Gulf & Arab countries, very wealthy Europeans, Turks. Minimum price for small dull flat/condo in undesirable London area count on $800,000 plus purchase fees !! Its hell for first time buyers there
Same thing in Amsterdam or any city in the Netherlands. Prices are skyrocketing, even government is reeling in foreign investments. Meanwhile Amsterdam is full of social housing, and nobody is moving. Even if they are, they overprice it. Add to that that very few houses are built, and if they are then it is a foreign funded project with triple the costs, and you are not allowed to get as high a mortgage as before. Starters are in the worst position: they cant get a mortgage or they have to live so far away from their work that you'd have a 3/4 hr commute each day. Meanwhile, rent goes up as well, and there is even a lack of middle-class rent: it is either topnotch or you need to wait 10+ years to get your low rent social house. It's absurd.
At 1:48, old photo of Place Jacques-Cartier in Montréal. Funny to see this in a video about Japan. Nice video.
The concept of an "expiration date" for an unused building after 30 years is a good way of preventing urban super-sprawl, the kind that can damage land and its use in the long run.
It's also stupid law that propogates building buildings with terrible quality materials and no historical legacy to be left behind
The idea is interesting but could you please explain how this prevents sprawl?
If the building is 30 years old and left abandoned for say longer than 6 months, the city could claim eminent domain, buy the land off the owner for pennies on the dollar, and redevelop it.
This gives the owner of the land an incentive to get off their arse and do something with it, rather than letting their property become an eye sore for the neighbourhood.
Even if the city turns the plot into a park or garden, that still beautifies the area, making the area more desirable and hopefully increasing land value as demand goes up.
I bought a house for cheap in a counsel housing estate here in NL. When I bought it for 98k, people told me I was crazy because of the neighbourhood it is in. But now that the counsel has gotten rid of the worst chav families, and sold those houses, rather than putting them up for subsidized rent again, the neighbourhood has gotten a lot better. The same type of house that I bought for 98k now sells for almost 138k. Only because the reputation of the neighbourhood has improved.
I think you're conflating the two points made in this video. One is that Japan's home have, or used to have, a 30 year 'expiration' because of poor build quality. The other is that homes are sitting vacant for a variety of reasons. It's not that people are abandoning homes after 30 years is up.
+EpiDemic117 That has to do with the view in japan where the whole is more important than the person. The polar opposite to egoism.
How is a home taxed in Japan? I expect homes built 35-40 years ago are not up to snuff compared to homes built today. These newer homes compare well if not better to modern townhouses in the west.
This may not have been one of the most exciting videos, and it must have been REALLY hard to film with all that footage. But man, was this one of the best and most insightful. Thank you for putting in such great work in every process, from filming to editing. Now excuse me while I hop over to Patreon. :P
Thank you so much!
This was indeed filled with genuine and honest commentary. Patreon is worthless drivel!
As a long-term resident of Japan I really value the accuracy of your videos. I often share them with friends back home when they say "Wait... what?"
I have been waiting for this video since I wondered about topic and this was a thorough explanation. Thanks. BTW, if anybody else made this same video, it would have been boring! Maybe not for young kids, but very interesting to me.
I think it missed one question: if they got rid of all the abandoned houses in the smaller towns and resold the land, wouldn't that make the land prices completely collapse? What would that do for intrest rates for people currently paying off mortgages?
Other than that, I agree.
A lot of work went into this video. Great job mate !
Owning a home really shouldn't be "an investment" because plumbing, wiring, and the building itself wear out, even if a home is built well. Moreover, it really shouldn't be an investment in a country like the US, where there are more empty houses than there homeless, with more houses being built every day.
Ironically, the practice of making a perfectly sealed building for energy efficiency actually makes the degradation problem worse. Once that envelop is penetrated, the water has nowhere to go, causing the wood to rot much faster. This is even worse for buildings that use a lot of OSB and MDF, because those alternatives to plywood tend to do very poorly around moisture.
Also, metal roofs can be problematic, because once that seal is broken(typically at the screw points), they also will trap water and even funnel into places where it can do a lot of damage over time.
All that said, if I were to buy a house in Japan, I'd try to get one used. Sure, it's harder to get a loan for, but the taxes on it would be far less ultimately. Getting something in that 22-30 year range seems ideal because they're up to good enough standards and have already been tried and tested.
Plus, I'm an American with construction experience, so I can generally fix things up, even if it's just little by little.
Land and buildings are only a good investment if you don't borrow to buy them. Interest on a mortgage means that your property needs to double in value for you to break even when you sell it.
Houses r good investment if u buy it new and also have great location. In my country, condos r worthless. People want freehold landed with a good location. My parents invested in some. They didn't rent it so they don't have to buy furnitures. They take loan cuz no money. They hold the house for a few years and sell it. Invest in houses where u know people actually *want* it. It's limited
@@anneliselim602 did they actually *profit* from that, though? If so, when did they do this?
@@InfernosReaper I'm from Malaysia so it's different from where you're from. About 3 years ago,they recently sold it
@@anneliselim602 Ah, yes, it probably is very different.
I love the picture of old Montreal , 1:45, the street scene is quite a bit different today though the old buildings remain.
I've been thinking about this. The idea of a house being short lived makes me kind of sad. But then again, I live in an 100 year old house, that has quite a few problems, and has modifications of various quality from various times, which means it's not really suited to modern life all that well. As long as it's done sensibly, perhaps keeping housing up to date is sensible. New build housing in the UK isn't always of great quality though. I lived in a very new flat a while ago, and it had some really big issues!
Your videos are always so interesting! I would love if you could make more films on housing, maybe about restoring/buying/maintaining ancient or really old houses. I've heard that a good portion of people buying/living in traditional houses are actually foreigners, while many Japanese opt for a new house.
Fantastic video. I was not aware of the depreciation of homes in Japan. This made me think of a conversation that I had with a few Japanese friends (back 17 years ago). They said a mortgage period in Japan could take one, two or even three generations to pay off. Young Japanese graduates work, save their money and leave Japan because they claim it is too expensive (and too hard) to live in Tokyo. They advised it is better to save their money and buy and own a home abroad e.g. a home in North America, where homes are larger in square footage and the homes appreciate in value after time (again this was 17 years ago when North American homes were cheaper).
Their statement and your video made me think, how many young Japanese people transitioned from Japan to live abroad? It certainly would have impacted Japan's population decline and increased home vacancies in Japan. Curious if there are any stats on that.
Anyways, thanks for the great video. I could not stop watching it. :O)
ONLY in ANTARCTICA I assume you talked them 27 years ago, not 17 years ago. Bubble economy busted in 1992 and real estate value went a serious nose dive started from that year. Even central Tokyo's real estate value went less than 1/2 by 2000. Everything is super affordable in Tokyo including real estates comparing to other major cities (like Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore or Hong Kong). So many Asians come (especially Chinese) to buy real estates in Tokyo because of the price. Other cities in Japan are even more affordable. I am from city of 2 million population in Japan and an African graduate student told me it's cheaper to study in my home town than his home town (he was from Nairobi).
alexis nadal ok
Agree. There is now very little Japanese immigration (as opposed to the 19th century to US, South America) On top of that even those wanting to to do so face severe work/visa/ cultural barriers.
Like China, it's more for young people a question of lifestyle and the stress load. In HK student returning will work six days a week with Sunday as a family day. Not much room for lifestyle. My wife and her sister/husband all graduated from T.I.T. (Tokyo Institute of Technology). The couple works in Minneapolis for 3M and my wife lives in Vancouver with her own business. Japans' loss. (T.I.T. is a boys only University, and very prestigious). My wife and her sister were foreign students and therefore exempt from Japan's discrimination against female students. fyi
alexis nadal what city is that?
All homes need maintenance to stay standing. 30 years is a basic asphalt shingle roof.
I'd love for run down homes like these to be this cheap in the US. Thanks to physical size of Japan, you can get end to end even by car very quickly.
It's not exactly a short drive going from Bangor Maine to South Central LA....
Would love to take one of these run down homes. But there is no way I'd deal with Japan's social customs.
I love the use of Okutama photos.
Hahaha! I used some of the footage for my Patreon behind-the-scenes as well. I don't think I have any more of the footage left to use. I need to go out into the countryside and get some more footage! Maybe Gunma ;-)
Life Where I'm From if only you knew someone in Gunma willing to let you visit them...
:-P
If I may make a correction, at min 8:40 you say Shinto's religion Ise Grand Shrine, some portions (actually the grand shrine) is rebuilt every 20 years. which is correct, however you explain that this is part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature, etc. No, this rebuilt is done every 20 years so that the knowledge of how the shrine is built will be passed from one generation to another before those who know pass away. This is the historically correct explanation. Good video though, really informative. Keep up the good work. I subscribed!
for the good of Japan, I will volunteer my self to live there and bring the berth rate up again.
Fun stuff, have you accomplished it yet after 3 year's ?
This was a really fascinating video Greg. I like having an occasional serious and informative video alongside your sillier ones! Really interesting!
wood 'frame' houses in Chicago are over 100 years old...
Interesting top and a great eye-opener. Especially, like you here in British Columbia (BC), investing in real estate is of the highest caliber. My son (Canadian) wondered why his wife (Japanese) was only looking at new built homes instead of those beautiful older Japanese homes. We have love the history behind the older home and thought the prices were excellent, PLUS you can always renovate as we have done here in Canada. But you explained this explicitly as to why its better to invest in a new building than the older home. Now, they have decided to live in an apartment for a while until my son gets familiar with living in Japan. Thank you! Looking forward to the continuation of the home purchases in Nippon.
freakonomics also does an excellent podcast on the Japanese real estate market. Your son should listen to his Japanese wife
I don’t understand the Japanese thinking. Per this vlog, buildings codes are very strict for homes built within the last 25 years. I own one and it’s better built than homes in the US. With proper maintenance they’ll last well over a hundred years. And the Japanese craftsmen do such a wonderful job remodeling homes at a fraction of the cost. I think the mindset is the problem. A large percentage of the population want their own home and that means new.
Excellent and well researched! I love it
Japan should then reduce the tax so there are not dumps around then!!
That seems to be the obvious solution but you know how governments are with reducing or removing taxes...
Japan's government is in a very deep debt and it is still growing, reducing taxes would only make it worse
@@starmax1000 Ever hear of trickle down economics? It's a popular belief shared amongst many Americans, so it must work very well. Slash already low taxes, so the people(corporations) make more money to buy basic commodities for themselves.
AMD1 if the government in general isn’t that trusted for it’s basic services like clean water and proper roads imagine the hell it would be if any random company is expected to do such things on its own
@@starmax1000 so reduce spending? Oh wait. . .government. Yeah they dont like to not spend on things.
When I did work in construction as my first job. We build wooden frames with fire proof wood "treated wood" if it did fire burned at higher temperature or long enough it would start to burn.
And we still had to insulate the frame. Earthquake proof a lot of things to.
In southern California there are many rules to follow.
Nice video Greg, I am always impressed by how quick Japan rebuilds itself, especially after a disaster (I visited the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake museum in Kobe, amazing how quick everything was built again). Question: would apartments that are being rented airbnb-style (short/seasonal term) be considered as vacant? Maybe that is a reason for the larger number?
Good question. Since airbnb is a relatively new thing, my feeling is that it hasn't been factored into the latest statistics. As far as I know, hotels and minpaku are not included in vacancy numbers, but I could be wrong. What I have heard though, is that vacancies in hotels are quite low, meaning they need more rooms.
Thank You. Yeah, I meant more in general (even before Airbnb), with seasonal rentals and such, that must fill quite a lot of rooms in the Summer and Winter, but not so much the rest of the year.
Curious about the Hotels, Japan seems to have a quite high variety of places to stay (including different types of hotels), I guess the same issue occurs in Summer and Winter, too much demand from travelers.
I think the AirBnB market in Japan would make an interesting follow-up video, since the Japanese government just passed a law legalizing it (on June 9th 2017).
Legalized with conditions. The maximum amount of time you can have a room available for AirBnb and similar services in Japan is 180 days (local municipalities can shorten this length, and individual HOAs can also ban them within a certain apartment building). This is actually better than some other countries that have regulated it. You do need to register with the local government, There are other rules, such as displaying a clear sign in public, keeping the place clean, and providing authorities with a list of guests coming and going. Failure to do this can result in fines or even imprisonment.
+Facundo R - Sadly, recovery still goes on for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku Event. I would say it will be another 10 years before they fully recover in some areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures.
Superb high quality videos. Really like your clear and authoritative view.
bigger buildings need to be built to support a larger population. why would you build houses on an island that has half of the US population on it. the population is declining because of 2 major reasons; its expensive to raise children in the city, and people can't meet to start a family if they are working 100 hour work weeks.
Wrong. But not completely
Child birth rates are falling all across the western world. Not just japan.
So if you want to explain how some slob working fast food for 30 hours a week is working 100 hours a week, go ahead.
Not all Japanese work crazy long hours.
The living is expensive but taking all into account if is comparable. The family tend to help much more, especially with raising kids.
The problem is the same in most European countries.
So you are right with the specific facts, but I would say there is more issues than that.
The population was growing faster in the previous centuries where people`s lives were worse. Obviously this is oversimplification as well.
Japanese don't by used stuff because they sell the used stuff at almost the same freaken price as the new one. Love going to flee markets and find an old "Louis Vitton" bags with holes. The owner payed 200$ for it and it is a "brand" bag so you can have it for the low low price of 150$! What a deal!
Same goes for cars, houses and basically eveything. Great for the sellers though!
interesting comment I find. Maybe interesting in UK the rule of thumb is that if you sell something second hand you are content to receive a third of purchase price (often less these days). However, in France they are in the habit of "overvaluing their "bien" goods and aim for 50% or more ! Its greed of course and they often have problems or very long delays selling their unwanted goods. Same applies to homes & vehicles. They are completely unrealistic.
This is so fascinating and educational! Getting all my friends to subscribe to you! Thank you for your hard work 😄
0:10 That pronounced dip in the 1940's 😬
Oof
3:31 - to translate the Shindo scale to the Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale: Shindo 5-/5+ is about MMI 5-6 on the MMI scale. Shindo 6-/6+ is about 7-8 on the MMI scale. Shindo 7 is 9 and up on the MMI scale.
How many of the abandoned homes are part of the dead house lists? If someone died in them people will not want to live there for some reason.
That`s why our home was $50k instead of 200k.
apparently people are starting to move into those because they can't afford anything else...
This is good news as I’m going to be looking to purchase a house in Japan soon, something that was IMPOSSIBLE for me to afford in America. I just found your channel and have been watching your “living in Japan” videos so much I decided to subscribe. Looking forward to watching more!
Really great, well-researched video, Greg!
Thanks! I just watched your Myanmar video, really enjoyed it!
Thank you so much! We really enjoyed our trip and so happy to start sharing our adventures there.
Can't get enough of these videos! Please don't stop! :) unless it's too much work, then you can continue leisurely ;) -fellow Canadian!
》Tax Tax Tax Tax Tax
》Mandatory Insurances(Life, Employment, Health, Social)
》Tax Tax Tax Tax Tax
Whew!
And then the natives complain about how little money they have in their pockets. And what do they propose to be the solution? That's right, MORE government programs, and higher taxes! Ay-yi-yi!
Very informative! and lots of work done for this video! Loved it
Where we live in Tokyo theres a few abandoned houses on our walk to the station. It really bothers me how much of a waste it is of a perfectly good home. In countries like England we all are fighting for space. Its interesting how different it is...
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34930602 there are lots of abandoned houses in UK..
They could be suicide homes, Few Japanese are inclined to buy one. I would if it was well appointed,
Maybe due to strong tenants' rights. You do not want to rent out short term
Both Countries don’t have much room, Japan Is decreasing In population while England Is Increasing In It, Japan ai’nt really gianing any space with all of The stupid foreigner’s Going Into It, I need room for a new house There, It being my native home Country.
Its called speculation by Chinese home buyers muwahahahha!
Lol at 0:16 the building on the left is where I worked for 6 months and called gajoen in meguro pays well too just wanted to tell u
Interesting implications for homelessness in US and Japan.
@Craig Schultz No but think about the persistence of unused homes. We talk about homelessness in both US and Japan, as though we need to build new homes, but given there are so many that are unoccupied it makes me wonder if we already have homes for them, they just can't get in to them.
@@redryan20000 as someone who fits the federal definition of homeless I can tell you the two things that have held me back are low wages due to lack of education (or rather the lack of money to pay for a degree) and the fact that a single bedroom apartment is 1800 a month where I live while minimum wage is 7.25 per hour and average wage is 10-13 dollars an hour. Even with my wife and I working full-time we wouldn't be able to afford the utilities on top of the rent. The lack of degree makes it so we can only take low pay jobs while rich Californians move in demolish old houses and build town homes and luxury apartments that locals cannot afford. I can't afford to rent a shithole apartment in my home town. I now face having to migrate to an area with lower cost of living to even be able to afford a single bedroom apartment.
@@RageUnchained I could only advise moving away. Somewhere that costs 1800 dollars is probably just unfeasible and there are plenty of great places in the country other than the handful of mega cities.
@@redryan20000 we have to move, we know this. But since companies are hesitant to Hire people out of state finding work or even building a decent enough savings to do so is also difficult.
We just bought a house in Japan and faced the same issues. There was a used house we liked, but the broker pointed out the "old-school" foundation vs the modern foundation of the new house we were also considering. (It's so new, the street doesn't even appear on Google Maps which makes pizza and package delivery an issue.) The new house, though, has insulation and double paned windows. Just in case, we have a 17 year mortgage and own the land, which not all Japanese homeowners do, so hopefully we can resell easily if we need to.
The fact that you call it a "used" house clearly spells it out, as if the house is all used up. It's cultural. No one calls them "used houses" in America; they're just "houses", or old houses. Used is for something like a napkin.
Japanese : I should probably own a house
Earthquake : I'm about to end this man's career
This was really interesting. I like this format Greg
Mother effin Greg back at it again with them 10/10 quality videos.
I worked as electrician of Japan few years ago, worked on low rise and townhouses. All of them were build with still frames, and cement-fiber siding, very little wood was used, even all the framing studs were steel.
Dude im from chile the earthquake from japan are just vibrations for us, in my city, valparaiso, we got houses that surpases the age of 100 years and they are made of adobe (mix of mud and hay) and they are in almost perfect shape, so i think that they demolish the houses more from comodity. Great chanel keep the good vids
That's funny, I'm from Valparaiso, Indiana.
they hay in adobe actually prevents it from cracking. Its the fibres.
There is houses in the USA that has been around since the 1600s and 1700s. There is plenty from the 1800s. While newer houses today don't last simply due to poor construction and poor construction materials. Like many cheaper houses here have poor roofs poorly put on or wasn't put on right. And this is the death of most homes since owners don't know to look for things like that, how to fix it, or if someone is messing them over.
As far as abandon buildings. It doesn't matter if the material was wood or brick. No abandon building be worth while after a 10-40 years. In the desert it is a bit longer, but they will even fall over.
Psychology homework or Life Where I'm From?
I think we all know who wins this battle.
Thanks for another very insightful, thought-provoking and interesting video! There are so many implications with the decline of the birth rate in Japan. I'd never even thought of how it is impacting the housing market and land value. Wow.
The issue with unsold rental units in Tokyo is xenophobia! I made reservations online at three different apartment building offices in Tokyo. Then, once I was there, no one would rent to me because I am American. It was the 2008 financial crisis and people were being laid off and killing themselves in the streets and I was seen as an outsider. I was told I needed to leave Japan right then, even though I had a valid visa. Japanese xenophobia is something that is rarely talked about because it is effectively swept under the rug by the government, because it would negatively effect the tourism money they get. I wanted to live in Japan with all of my heart, but now that I see what type of racist people they are, I only pity them and hope they grow up into a more accepting society. That is their only hope for success in their future. I'm pulling for them!
We did kill a whole bunch of them from 1940-1945. Seems logical for them to be scared of us.
A Martin They aren't frightened of us! :)
The Japanese did a lot of killing too in the World War, so I don't think they are scared, they just don't trust outsiders.
I've been living here for 15 years and I can tell you that as a whole the Japanese are not frightened of us, although you can find individuals in Japan as in any country that are xenophobic. I know many foreigners who rent apartments in Tokyo, so not sure why you had this problem. You said you had a valid visa....a 90 day tourist visa? You sure you weren't at, or close to, 90 days? If you had a real Visa with a year or more duration to live here the real estate agency wouldn't be able to make you leave. So don't just blame your situation on racism.
That said, they do control their country, including immigration, very tightly and in my opinion, very well - which is one reason I love living here. I think Japan will have to open it's doors to more immigration in the next 20 years but when they do it will be legal immigration and well controlled. Not like the mess we have in the US right now.
We’re not racist, We just have different thinking Than you so Called american’s do To protect our value’s, stupid foreigner’s have been ruining Them.
You've got some very well edited, and informative videos about Japan. Thanks for sharing.
sounds like I really should follow my dreams and move to the Japanese countryside and live in peace.
The only nightmare here is the Kanji.
Wow, well done and well researched. The construction industry has been a big contributing factor in making people believe that houses only last 30 years. It's amazing that bureaucrats can't fugure out that of the taxes increase 6 fold after demolishing a house nobody in their right mind is going to remove the abandoned houses. I bought a 25 year old house a few years ago and sold it a few years later for double the price. I completely renovated it and brought it to modern earthquake standards. I also put insulation in it making it very energy efficient, the new owners are very happy and so am I. I'm working on my second house now. While I was renovating my house, the neighbours had their house rebuilt, it was less than 20 years old. Why?
Do they have problems with squatters?
I doubt they tolerate that in Japan.
Rate of homeless in Japan is quite damn low.
Super production.....informative. Enjoyed it a lot so many thanks.
In Taiwan, (In the short time I've been there) we have homes made from solid cement. You know how there are people who can punch into walls online? Yeah... try that in Taiwan straight into the cement walls and you'll end up with a shattered forearm. It makes sense that houses need to be made with a lot more support in earthquake prone countries :P In Australia, (where I live now) we have wooden frames and cement foundations.
Wolfcchi in Greece all buildings are made with cement and concrete. Imo much better and lasts way longer
This is a fascinating video, I knew nothing about any of this. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into making these, i really appreciate it.
1:05.... Hmmmm, I wonder what must have happened in 1945.
Omg I didn't catch that.... Jesus rip
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not within the vicinity of Tokyo, far from it actually. Too many dumbasses on UA-cam nowadays, smh.
The traditional architecture and design of Japanese homes is mesmerizing. I am completely taken by it. This video has been most helpful! It's my dream to buy an abandoned traditional Japanese house in the countryside and restore it. And now that I know what I do about the land, I would want to buy a home in demolishable condition, demolish it, and then plant agriculture on the land creating a garden.
12.7% of American homes are vacant despite skyrocketing homelessness. Sure is a great system we have here. :(
it was 2% here 2yrs ago. It was $400 dollars a week for a 1 bedroom apt. It's now 4% and rent prices have come down a bit.
Note's Scrotes You guys don't even have proper healthcare... Many reasons to feel sorry for Americans
zoji rushi
There is no reason to fell sorry for that, after all they are the ones who don't wan't to have proper health care, because that is what communists do.
zoji rushi actually I would prefere the US healthcare model. I live in a country that has mandatory monthly payments for health insurance and the quality of care is garbage and usualy they dont even try to find out what is wrong with you'r health.
Márton Léránt In USSR healthcare was free you dumb westerner
Great research. Very informative. Thank you!
Thanks! I had asked about this a couple months ago.
Amazing video Greg! Very informative, I love it!
*"were expected to live around 50.."* stop repeating school lies pls
I noticed that too. It's not really a lie, but a misconception about how averages work. The average life expectancy was so low because of high child mortality rates. If you survived past a certain age, your chances of getting old increased significantly.
Informative video !! I'm not sure everyone would like it, but I would be interested in a video about the construction process of a house. Perhaps visit the factory where they make the prefabricated components and then show some aspects of building the house. On the other hand it could take a lot of effort to organize and film. Do they have any tv shows in Japan like "Mike Holmes" ? Perhaps since the houses just get torn down rather than renovated and flipped, there isn't much scope for dodgy building practices.
石造りだと地震ですぐ壊れる