[nihonde]

The price is for the land, which can be quite expensive and can go up. The cost of demolition and building a new home is about USD200-300k for a very nice three bedroom home in a typical urban area. Credit is very cheap too. Also, people prefer new things in Japan. If you see a car that is more than a few years old, it will most likely be a mint-condition collectors item.

[mrhappyunhappy]

I'm in Kyushu. Seikisui houses cost 150-300k here on average. The house I personally want (saw at house demo place) is 750k. It's really nice!! In California that might buy a 3br in the outskirts of LA buy it won't be nice. The house I saw, in California would probably go for 1.5-3 mil in southern parts and much higher in SF.

[nihonde]

$750k in Kyushu must be a mansion! Those home showcases are great aren’t they? Would you build wood or steel frame?

[mrhappyunhappy]

The 750k model I saw was steel frame modular home, soon theory you could re-arrange it if you got bored of the layout - though I suspect that comes with a hefty cost.

[sambroner]

Could you explain one of the home showcases? Sounds like an interesting idea.

[nihonde]

It’s basically a large lot where all the major home builders set up their model homes and have detailed sales walkthroughs. Home builders in Japan are at an industrial scale with lots of economies of scale and modular parts, yet a surprising amount of customization is possible. Companies like Toyota and Mitsubishi have home divisions.