Tourism Airbnb to convert akiya into tourist lodgings

[thomas]

Private lodging operator Airbnb is looking for ways to house travellers in the growing number of homes left empty in Japan as the population declines, its manager for the country told Nikkei Asia. According to an official survey, the number of unused houses (空き家 akiya) has almost doubled during the past two decades, to nearly 3.5 million in 2018. As the population of the world's third-largest economy ages, that figure is expected to reach 4.7 million in 2030. The government says these unused houses could cause security and sanitary problems as they decay.

Airbnb, which operates a platform to match travelers with hosts offering lodging, does not intend to acquire empty houses or subsidize renovations. Rather, it is working with other businesses and local governments to encourage owners of empty homes to convert them into tourist accommodations. [...] Of particular interest to Airbnb are traditional folk houses, known as kominka, which appeal to foreign tourists seeking authentic experiences. This year, Airbnb donated 150 million JPY (USD 1 million) to the Japan Kominka Association, which seeks to preserve such dwellings. [...] As part of partnership formed last year with Japan's Ryohin Keikaku, owner of lifestyle brand retailer Muji, Airbnb is also looking to find lodgers for a more than 100-year-old private house in Chiba prefecture that Ryohin Keikaku renovated.

Paywall alert:

Airbnb looks to convert Japan's empty homes into tourist lodgings

Search for space intensifies as weak yen spurs surge in foreign visitors

asia.nikkei.com

 

[mdchachi]

Private lodging operator Airbnb is looking for ways to house travellers in the growing number of homes left empty in Japan as the population declines, its manager for the country told Nikkei Asia. According to an official survey, the number of unused houses (空き家 akiya) has almost doubled during the past two decades, to nearly 3.5 million in 2018. As the population of the world's third-largest economy ages, that figure is expected to reach 4.7 million in 2030. The government says these unused houses could cause security and sanitary problems as they decay.

Paywall alert:

Airbnb looks to convert Japan's empty homes into tourist lodgings

Search for space intensifies as weak yen spurs surge in foreign visitors

asia.nikkei.com

What's a good site to look for real estate in Japan especially around Tokyo? Not necessarily akiya, just in general. I'm just curious what prices look like now.

 

[nice gaijin]

There needs to be some guardrails to ensure that private interests don't swallow up all the real estate and squeeze out individual home buyers. If companies with deep pockets swoop in and secure properties en masse to turn them into short-term rental money factories, it will put a similar squeeze on families and make housing less affordable. If I were the government I would consider imposing stiff tax penalties on real estate held by incorporated interests.

Right now it feels like I could even afford to buy a cheap house in Japan, which is near impossible in the US without 30 years of house-poor indentured servitude, in part because of this situation going unchecked here. This will definitely change if companies start buying up all the available real estate.

 

[nice gaijin]

Right on cue:

 

[mdchachi]

Right on cue:

Maybe better him than the Chinese though.

China's housing market is so bad people are rushing to the US to buy a home

Chinese buyers spent $13.6 billion on US residential real estate in the year ending March 2023, the National Association of Realtors found.

markets.businessinsider.com

Chinese buyers were the biggest source of foreign capital into the residential real estate market through the year ending in March 2023, NAR said in a recent report, with buyers spending $13.6 billion on US residential properties in the period. That's more than double the total amount spent in the prior year, with Chinese buyers spending $6.1 billion on home purchases in the period ending March 2022.