I’m confused. What is your opinion on the housing market in Japan? After 30-40 years, can you still consider them assets or liabilities? Taxes plus insurance…. Etc. Enlighten me on which is better. I’m a PR holder who plans to live in Japan forever.
I’ll ask too. Any info about the hidden monthly payments ? Except obvious taxes.
Houses aren’t an investment here. (They shouldn’t be in any country if you ask me). Land prices will probably rise over time, but likely not to what you paid for both the house and land.
If you don’t plan to move, buying is the best option. If you plan to retire, then not having to pay rent in your 60’s is better than using the pension to pay.
I guess it depends where and what you buy: I see the price difference in 2 years (central Tokyo) – prices have rocketed for nice flats.
If you plan to stay in a place a long time, it’s probably still worth it to buy.
Houses probably won’t increase in value but the land should, provided the area is not depopulating.
Condos that are close to major train stations are your best bet for retaining value, but I wouldn’t buy expecting to make a profit down the line.
I decided to buy a 40 years apartment.
The hidden cost is high for sure. 150k -200k property taxes every year, 150k fire insurance every 5 years, total 16k management and maintenance fee every months, and risks of paying more if something broken e.g. earthquake happen.
It might be 30-40% higher every month in total if compared to renting the exact same apartment. So my only consideration is pay less to make it as expense, or pay more to make it as investment? I think at least it could remain 50% of the value so I choose buying
Japan is one of the few places in the world where houses aren’t an investment. You likely won’t see a net profit and might even see profits drop if you think about investing in Japan housing.
For people saying the “land” will increase value, it’ll be based on context. For what you paid for both house/land, the land won’t ever get to that value likely.
I actually think Japan has the right when it comes to this because housing should not be an investment. Look at what this has done to places like San Francisco or Hong Kong. It leads to people living in horrible conditions because companies buy up land/houses as a way to store money and increase the value of the money.
My condo has increased in value (based on sales of the same pattern/size apartment in the same building on lower floors), but I have no expectation that that will continue into the future.
Another big thing is that the population in Japan is expected to decline with many millions. This will affect house prices drastically in certain areas for sure.
I post this long ago. House don’t go up much, mostly the house value is zero, the land is what they want. Mansion/tower mansion do go up really well in some sectors, with my wife we bought 9 years ago and price went up so well that mostly of our neighbors rent or sold it for a lot of profit. We plan to rent and buy another one now.
Everyone says houses are a bad investment but look at people who bought it 10 years ago for 3-4000man, those same houses would likely be worth 5000+ now. Not a great return but definitely not a liability
My understanding is that having a mortgage on a new home here is like a car loan. Once you’re done paying the value has probably dropped a lot. Value going up is probably very rare and/or a special case. Used market being what it is it doesn’t help.
That said a car after 10-15years can still perfectly get you from A to B. All depends on use and maintenance. So probably same for a house after 40years.
There’s also the security once you finished paying vs getting kicked if you miss rent. Of course this doesn’t apply if you have a lot of revenue, if you travel a lot etc. In the end it’s all about ones own lifestyle.
It really depends on where you are. My first apartment in west Tokyo gained value so I sold it for more than I paid after 4 years. That helped me get a house in the same area, which is really popular for families. The land value has increased a lot.
The downside? The house is small, new build with limited options. It was very basic and we had to spend a lot to get the interior the way we wanted. We basically got a got a new build as it was finished and managed to get the best one on the lot. But it is not big by any standards.
The land will make money over time. All of the land in the area is going for higher and higher prices as it becomes more scarce. Hopefully by then I will be able to sell it off and get a big piece of land out in the countryside.
To me buying a house was just a standard of living upgrade. It likely won’t translate into money down the road, but I pay less per month for a much much better living situation.
16 comments
Houses do not. The land under the house does.
I’ll ask too. Any info about the hidden monthly payments ? Except obvious taxes.
Houses aren’t an investment here. (They shouldn’t be in any country if you ask me). Land prices will probably rise over time, but likely not to what you paid for both the house and land.
If you don’t plan to move, buying is the best option. If you plan to retire, then not having to pay rent in your 60’s is better than using the pension to pay.
I guess it depends where and what you buy: I see the price difference in 2 years (central Tokyo) – prices have rocketed for nice flats.
If you plan to stay in a place a long time, it’s probably still worth it to buy.
Houses probably won’t increase in value but the land should, provided the area is not depopulating.
Condos that are close to major train stations are your best bet for retaining value, but I wouldn’t buy expecting to make a profit down the line.
I decided to buy a 40 years apartment.
The hidden cost is high for sure. 150k -200k property taxes every year, 150k fire insurance every 5 years, total 16k management and maintenance fee every months, and risks of paying more if something broken e.g. earthquake happen.
It might be 30-40% higher every month in total if compared to renting the exact same apartment. So my only consideration is pay less to make it as expense, or pay more to make it as investment? I think at least it could remain 50% of the value so I choose buying
Japan is one of the few places in the world where houses aren’t an investment. You likely won’t see a net profit and might even see profits drop if you think about investing in Japan housing.
For people saying the “land” will increase value, it’ll be based on context. For what you paid for both house/land, the land won’t ever get to that value likely.
I actually think Japan has the right when it comes to this because housing should not be an investment. Look at what this has done to places like San Francisco or Hong Kong. It leads to people living in horrible conditions because companies buy up land/houses as a way to store money and increase the value of the money.
My condo has increased in value (based on sales of the same pattern/size apartment in the same building on lower floors), but I have no expectation that that will continue into the future.
Another big thing is that the population in Japan is expected to decline with many millions. This will affect house prices drastically in certain areas for sure.
I found [Landed: Japan](https://landedbook.com/landed-japan/) to be a pretty easy read.
[Legal Issues in Japanese Real Estate Investment](https://resources.realestate.co.jp/service/book-on-legal-issues-in-japanese-real-estate-investment/) was a little harder to digest.
I post this long ago. House don’t go up much, mostly the house value is zero, the land is what they want. Mansion/tower mansion do go up really well in some sectors, with my wife we bought 9 years ago and price went up so well that mostly of our neighbors rent or sold it for a lot of profit. We plan to rent and buy another one now.
Everyone says houses are a bad investment but look at people who bought it 10 years ago for 3-4000man, those same houses would likely be worth 5000+ now. Not a great return but definitely not a liability
My understanding is that having a mortgage on a new home here is like a car loan. Once you’re done paying the value has probably dropped a lot. Value going up is probably very rare and/or a special case. Used market being what it is it doesn’t help.
That said a car after 10-15years can still perfectly get you from A to B. All depends on use and maintenance. So probably same for a house after 40years.
There’s also the security once you finished paying vs getting kicked if you miss rent. Of course this doesn’t apply if you have a lot of revenue, if you travel a lot etc. In the end it’s all about ones own lifestyle.
It really depends on where you are. My first apartment in west Tokyo gained value so I sold it for more than I paid after 4 years. That helped me get a house in the same area, which is really popular for families. The land value has increased a lot.
The downside? The house is small, new build with limited options. It was very basic and we had to spend a lot to get the interior the way we wanted. We basically got a got a new build as it was finished and managed to get the best one on the lot. But it is not big by any standards.
The land will make money over time. All of the land in the area is going for higher and higher prices as it becomes more scarce. Hopefully by then I will be able to sell it off and get a big piece of land out in the countryside.
To me buying a house was just a standard of living upgrade. It likely won’t translate into money down the road, but I pay less per month for a much much better living situation.