January 22, 2008
Disposable Homes
I’ve always thought of America as a disposable nation; we seem to have the capacity to make even the most permanent things, from dishware to cameras, into disposable objects. And, looking at a lot of recent housing developments (and ignoring assurances about vastly improved housing codes from an architect friend), I just assumed we led the world in disposable housing.
But we aren’t.
Due to a history riddled with earthquakes, fires and perverse pro-new housing tax incentives, Japan razes homes faster than casino developers in Vegas. After about 30 years, homes are replaced and because of the disposable mindset, new homes are built with cheap materials, prolonging the cycle. So few “used” homes are sold that there is little infrastructure, from surveyors to appraisers, for second-hand homes (sorry Eppraisal!).
Statistics from the Economist. The full story is behind a paywall at the Economist.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Indeed - my in-laws currently live in Japan, and we are always urging them to purchase a home. When we were there, we saw many older homes at great prices. We’d present it to my brother -in-law and he would just say, “There’s no WAY I’m buying a house that was built in 1989″! Interesting.