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This Cheap “Oceanside Home” in Japan is a Real (Dangerous) Deal
People say you can buy old abandoned homes in Japan for cheap. That may be true. The downside is, many of them look like this.
You get what you pay for, the old saying goes. That may be more true than ever with this condominium listing that went viral on Japanese social media recently.
A lot of English language websites tout that you can buy old, abandoned properties for cheap in Japan. And that’s true. The number of akiya (空き家) is sitting at about 13% of all homes in Japan currently. This number is liable to rise as population decline continues.
What these articles don’t tell you is that many of these homes are in a state of disrepair and will likely cost multiple times what you paid to bring them into a useful state.
Which brings us to the subject of today’s article.
The listing on Japanese realty site SUUMO went viral thanks to user @rea87736817 on X. On January 12th, they posted this picture of the listing for a cheap condominium unit in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. The listing in the building, Uzushio Mansion Number 1, is a two bedroom going for 2.8 million yen — a mere USD $17,888.
“I can see myself going nuts and buying this on an impulse,” they wrote. “Heck, I might buy Uzushio Mansion Number One.”
