If you want to be a homeowner in Japan or have always dreamed of moving to Japan, then you are certainly in for a deal of a lifetime. The Japanese government has launched a program to reduce the number of abandoned homes across the country by offering them for sale for little to no money.
There are about eight million houses that have been left abandoned all over Japan, according to a 2013 report. Natural disasters and an aging population are the biggest reasons why many of these homes have been left empty for so many years.
As reported by Insider, the Japanese also hold a superstition about old homes or homes where people died violent or unnatural deaths being considered bad luck can also make real estate difficult to sell.
So as an incentive to get people to move into the houses, the government may also offer funds to renovate the properties, especially those houses that were abandoned and left in disrepair.
As reported by the “Japan Times,” 70 percent of people in Tokyo live in apartments. Many of the abandoned homes are rurally located, but more and more have been popping up in suburbs and close to cities, making them potentially viable options for people who are sick of cramped urban living.
Nomura Research Institute also predicted that the number of abandoned homes could rise to 21.7 million by 2033, which is nearly one third of all homes in the country.
“If this continues, at some point it may be necessary to consider limiting new construction. But that would have a substantial impact on the economy,” Wataru Sakakibara, a senior consultant at NRI, told the “Japan Times.”
