housing in japan

i'm a canadain citizen, and i'm interested in relocate to Japan and buying a house or an apartment as investment is it possible??
thanks in advance.
kenny

Ktino,

Yes, it is possible, although buying property in Japan rarely seems to be an investment.
Note that you usually need to be a permanent resident (i.e. at least 10 years' residence) to qualify for a mortgage, so you will need to have ready cash/

In addition, you'll need to think about how you'll come and stay in Japan. Do you qualify for a work visa? Are you married to a Japanese citizen and can qualify for a spouse visa? You'll then need to put in several years to qualify for permanent residence which would allow you to remain in Japan permanently and not have to worry about those pesky visa renewals.

You can try http://www.foreclosedjapan.com but as above, you will probably need cash. One exception is if you come over and have property in Canada, you might be able to arrange a yen loan against it and release some equity.

I agree with Dave. Land here is valuable, but buildings aren't- the value gradually depreciates over the years until the building is 20 to 30 years old at which time it is getting rundown and is usually demolished. There are some older houses around outside big cities but they are not really safe as far as earthquakes go.

Japan also has virtually no inflation, meaning the value isn't even increasing in that way, and compared to what you might have got if you had invested in Canada or a similar economy the real value of your investment is decreasing.

I think you might need to do a bit more research on the property market here.

I live in Western Canada where new luxury homes are built with a frame of thin studs and plywood or OSB. An older house in a good area (likely built with thicker studs and wood planks instead of plywood) just sold for over 1 million Canadian $ and will be bulldozed. So some Canadians don't worry about the value of a house at all. Whenever I mention that I lived for a while in a 17th century stone house in Europe (with rooms that were each 7 metres by 7 metres with 3.5 metres high ceilings) many Western Canadians can't believe it is possible for a house "that old" to be livable.
In Canada as in Japan it is the land that is the most valuable by far.

I am also Canadian and living in Japan.

I agree with the other posters. The quality of houses built 20 or 30 years ago in japan (for the most part) are no where near the quality (structural stability, material quality, insulation) of a Canadian house. As well, houses aren`t nearly kept up as well or renovated as they are in Canada. See if you can find a website about how houses are made in Japan and compare that to Canada. Even today, the method of construction is quite different. Quite frankly, unless you are a super-handiman and are willing to spend thousands on fixing up a poor quality house with materials that you bring in from overseas, you wouldn`t get a house comparible to a Canadian house.

That said, they might be some deals here in japan. Good luck.

I don't want to start a war but as a Canadian that had a lot of experience in building houses in Europe I totally disagree with the assertion that Canadian houses are superior, especially those built in Western Canada (ever heard of leaky and moldy houses in B.C.? not just condos but single family houses too?).
I have lived in Japanese houses and seen scores being built and they aren't all shoddily built by any means. I have looked at tons of Japanese buildings mags with specs, construction details etc.
basically it is the same everywhere: some houses are very well built, most are so-so, some are crap.

I find these patriotic over-generalizations not very constructive.

When I lived in (Western) Canada, my house was poorly insulated (single glass windows), leaking and squeaking everywhere and had to be renovated constantly, despite being constructed only 2-3 decades ago. The climate was very humid, just like it is in Japan.

Now, I am looking into building a home in Japan. Just like in Canada, you have a wide array of selections: from very low to very high quality. You can build a home for around $100,000, which will have a weak foundation, weak structure and bad insulation, built by slaking sub contractors. For around $400,000 to $500,000 you can build high quality homes (not including land) with a foundation and structure to withstand very strong earthquakes, and state-of-the-art insulation and heating, although, of course, the cost also depends on the size of the house. Land prices vary tremendously between Tokyo and the rest of the country. They are cheap in the countryside.

I have never built a house in Canada, so I can't compare prices.

By the way, it can be possible to get the permanent residence in less than 10 years, especially if you are married to a Japanese national.

thanks alot , you guys are very helpful i'm glad to be here really. for myself i have about $400.000 cash in Canadian dollars and i can't invest everything in housing. but not much a options for a new comer to buy any house in japan, unless i live there for 10 yrs? or married to japanese citizen umm that depend on my luck.

thanks again
cheer