Japan's Cheap Homes
An insight into the enticing Japanese housing market for Australians
As house prices climb, hundreds of Australians are looking to Japan and its abandoned houses as a cheap way to get onto the property ladder. SBS investigates these daring renovators’ bid to achieve 'The Australian Dream' in Japan.
"I don't think I could ever own a house in Australia," says Dara Robinson, a Queenslander who has relocated to Japan in the hunt for more affordable housing. "More than 90% of Japan’s 125 million residents live in cities…a population trend that has left roughly 14 per cent of the country’s overall housing stock empty." These Australian first-time buyers are welcomed by the Japanese locals: "the country has among the highest inheritance tax rates.” Foreign buyers provide a cheap and easy way to bypass this financial blow for Japanese inheritors, or for those looking to move from the countryside to the city.
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