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Comment by sn0wf1re | Hacker News Reader

Typically Japan is used as an example. Rural houses there are extremely cheap these days. Urban housing is still expensive.

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Urban housing is still expensive

Not compared to most countries: https://www.sightline.org/2021/03/25/yes-other-countries-do-..., https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/opinion/editorials/tokyo-...

To expand on this, housing in first-tier cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka is quite expensive (although not bonkers like it's gotten in Canada/Australia/etc). Housing in smaller second- and third-tier cities is very affordable, while still maintaining access to good hospitals, public transit, jobs, and so on. Rural housing is practically free aside from the cost of renovation.

Housing everywhere in Japan is basically free aside from the cost of renovation + the cost of the land. Houses are considered to be disposable there, you're expected to tear it down and build a new one when you buy one, so they are priced accordingly.

The difference is that land in Tokyo etc is expensive.

But why would you? It seems like most young people with no money could just stay for free.

Because it’s the (outdated) law due to earthquakes. Building and materials have gotten much better since the original laws were passed.

Are you required by law to build a new house? What if the house was just built a year ago.

Old houses in rural areas often need a lot of care due to their age and condition. They may have sat empty for several years and suffered damage from a lack of maintenance.

Also if they're cheap postwar construction, they may not be very earthquake safe. If they're older traditional architecture, they're probably ok but still probably need a lot of TLC.

Makes sense - if I look at the overall Japan numbers, they look pretty flat (seems like foreign nationals are plugging some of the decline).

Curious what happens when there's a real demographic nosedive.

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