Helping foreigners buy property in Japan
A buyer's taxonomy, from new condos to kominka
Detached houses, condos called mansions, low-rise apartments, row houses, kominka, machiya, and resort units. Learn what each is, what it costs to buy and hold, and which one fits a city base, a long stay, or a renovation project.
Tell us your budget, preferred regions, and intended use. We show you where to look first.
The short answer
For overseas buyers: Learn which type of home suits a city base, a long stay, a vacation home, or a renovation project, and what each type costs to buy and hold.
A detached house (ikkodate) sits on its own land and is the common purchase outside city centers. A mansion is a condominium unit in a concrete building with a management association, and it is the common purchase inside cities. An apato is a low-rise wooden rental building. Row houses (nagaya), kominka, machiya, and resort condos complete the set.
In AkiyaHub market data, 47 percent of active listings across Japan are detached houses and 53 percent are condos or apartments. If you want land, privacy, or renovation potential, the detached share is where to look first. If you want low upkeep between visits, the condo share is. The mix flips between a central Tokyo ward, where condos dominate, and a Chiba commuter town, where detached houses dominate. This data includes detached houses, condos, and apartments. It is not a complete census of every property for sale in Japan.
Each type has its own price logic, running costs, and checks. This guide explains the eight types, the terms you will meet in a Japanese listing, the building structures and code years that set value, and the questions an overseas buyer must answer before choosing one.
Three rules of thumb
The eight types
Prices are typical asking ranges in the current market. Each card says who should investigate that type first. Open the linked guide to see current examples and local checks.
一戸建て
A single home on its own land. The most common purchase outside city centers. Value sits mostly in the land; the building depreciates over 22 years for tax. If you want land, parking, and space for long stays, start here.
新築・築浅
Built in 2000 or later to the current seismic code, often with insulation, double glazing, and a parking space. Lower repair risk, higher entry price, faster early depreciation. If you want to skip renovation, this is the trade.
マンション
A unit in a reinforced-concrete building with a management association. In Japanese, mansion means condo, not a large luxury house. Most city purchases are condos. If you want a city base with low upkeep between visits, start here.
アパート
A unit in a low-rise wooden or light-steel building, usually rented. Whole buildings are sold as small investments; single units are rarely sold to owner-occupiers. If you want a home to live in, this is not your type.
長屋・テラスハウス
Attached houses that share walls, common in Osaka and older Tokyo neighborhoods. Low asking prices, but shared structure and narrow access limit rebuilding. If you want a lower-priced city base and accept those limits, look here.
古民家・民家
Traditional wooden houses, often 60 to 150 years old, with heavy timber frames, earthen walls, and tile or thatch roofs. Sought after for character and space. If you have renovation comfort and time, the value is real.
町家
Narrow wooden townhouses on merchant streets, best known in Kyoto. Long plots, inner gardens, and strict landscape rules in historic districts. If you want central Kyoto, this is the traditional option, with rules to check first.
リゾートマンション・別荘
Sea-view condos in Atami and Izu, mountain homes in Nagano and Yamanashi, ski units in Hokkaido. Low asking prices with high monthly fees in older resort buildings. If you will visit seasonally, compare ten years of fees before the price.
Tell us your estimated all-in budget, preferred home type, and the places you are considering. The free Snapshot shows where that type has real choice today.
Tell us your budget, preferred regions, and intended use. We show you where to look first.
Good finds this month
Real listings, real prices, still available. Filter by type or era to compare what each kind of home offers at each price band. Open the city guide for the local picture, or start a Snapshot to see homes that match your type and budget.
These homes were active in the 2026 Q3 market update (updated ). Prices are asking-price bands, not sale prices. Availability changes. Full details and agent contact are available to members.
House · Osaka City, Osaka
Under US$64K
House · Kyoto City, Kyoto
Under US$64K
House · Funabashi, Chiba
Under US$64K
House · Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Under US$64K
House · Matsudo, Chiba
Under US$64K
House · Kamakura, Kanagawa
US$64K to US$128K
House · Shinjuku, Tokyo
US$128K to US$255K
House · Kawagoe, Saitama
US$128K to US$255K
House · Atami, Shizuoka
Under US$64K
These are a few of the homes. Members see every current listing with the address, full photo set, running costs, and a fit score, and our team in Japan confirms availability before you commit.
USD amounts are estimates using the cached September 5, 2026 reference rate of ¥156.74 per US$1.
Read a Japanese listing
Japanese listings use a compact vocabulary for layout, size, type, condition, and land. These twelve terms cover most of it. If you can read them, you can compare two listings before anyone translates them for you.
| Term | Meaning | Group |
|---|---|---|
| LDK | Living, dining, kitchen in one room. 3LDK means three bedrooms plus LDK. | Layout |
| DK, K, S | Dining-kitchen, kitchen only, and a service room too small or dark to count as a bedroom. | Layout |
| Tsubo (坪) | About 3.3 square meters, the traditional unit for land and floor area. 30 tsubo is about 99 square meters. | Size |
| Jo (畳) | One tatami mat, about 1.62 square meters. Room sizes are often given in jo. | Size |
| Ikkodate (一戸建て) | A detached house on its own land. | Type |
| Mansion (マンション) | A condominium unit in a reinforced-concrete building, not a luxury house. | Type |
| Apato (アパート) | A unit in a low-rise wooden or light-steel rental building. | Type |
| Shinchiku, chuko (新築・中古) | New build and pre-owned. A home is new for one year after completion if never occupied. | Condition |
| Chikunen (築年) | Year built. 1981 and 2000 are the two seismic code years that matter most. | Condition |
| Saikenchiku fuka (再建築不可) | Cannot be rebuilt. The plot does not meet road-access rules, so the current building is the last one allowed. | Land |
| Shakuchi (借地) | Leasehold land. You own the building and rent the land under it. | Land |
| Kanrihi, shuzen tsumitatekin | Monthly management fee and repair reserve on a condo. | Costs |
Structure and age
Structure sets the tax life, the insurance cost, and the repair profile. The seismic code years of 1981 and 2000 set the resale market's confidence. If you want the lowest repair risk, the code year matters more than the asking price.
| Structure | Typical use | Useful life | Main checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood (W, 木造) | Most detached houses, kominka, machiya, apato | 22 years for tax; 50 to 100 plus years when maintained | Frame, moisture, termites, insulation |
| Light steel (S, 軽量鉄骨) | Builder homes and small apartment buildings | 27 years for tax | Rust at joints, insulation, cladding |
| Reinforced concrete (RC, 鉄筋コンクリート) | Condominiums and mid-rise buildings | 47 years for tax; often 60 plus years in practice | Repair reserve, concrete condition, code year |
| Steel reinforced concrete (SRC) | High-rise towers | 47 years for tax | Elevator and facade works, high management fees |
Useful life for tax follows National Tax Agency depreciation schedules. Real service life depends on maintenance and is usually much longer.
1981, the new seismic standard (shin-taishin). Buildings approved from June 1981 must resist a strong earthquake without collapse. Homes built before this date need a structural check and often a retrofit budget of ¥1 million to ¥3 million. Insurers and lenders treat the year as a dividing line.
2000, the wooden-house update. Rules for foundations, joints, and wall balance in wooden houses tightened in June 2000. A wooden house built after 2000 is the safest default for a buyer who does not want renovation risk. Homes between 1981 and 2000 sit in the middle and deserve an inspection.
Tell us your estimated all-in budget and whether you want a post-2000 home or an older house to renovate. The free Snapshot shows where each has real choice today.
Tell us your budget, preferred regions, and intended use. We show you where to look first.
The foreign-buyer complication
Choosing a type answers one question. These six decide whether a home of that type can work for you from abroad, and which type suits the use you have in mind.
Japan places no nationality, residency, or visa condition on owning a house, a condo, or land. Attached farmland can need a separate approval. Ownership does not grant a visa.
A condo suits a city base you visit often and want managed. A detached house suits long stays with space. A kominka or machiya suits a renovation project. A resort condo suits seasonal use if the fees fit.
Purchase costs apply to every type. A condo then adds monthly fees. A house adds a repair budget. An older house adds renovation. Your estimated all-in budget must carry all of it.
Condos are the simplest to buy with remote support, because the building has disclosure documents and a manager. Older houses need a contractor visit before an offer. Licensed partners and a power of attorney cover the rest.
Listings stay online after a home goes under offer, so availability needs a check with the Japanese-side agent. Vacation use is normal for every type. Short-term rental is subject to local rules and building bylaws, and most condos prohibit it.
Agents, management companies, contractors, and scriveners work in Japanese. AkiyaHub coordinates that communication for members in English; licensed partners handle licensed real estate work.
Where AkiyaHub fits
AkiyaHub is the English-language decision layer between you and the Japanese property market. Not a brokerage, not a listing site. We help overseas buyers research and purchase; licensed partners handle licensed real estate work.
Understand
The free Snapshot applies the estimated all-in budget rule to your target regions and shows which types have real choice there.
Get My Free Japan Property SnapshotDecide
Members search every current listing in English by type, age, and price, with all-in cost tools, Property Intelligence reports, and vetted recommendations.
See membershipPurchase
Buyer-paid, zero commission. Our Japan team coordinates viewings, offers, contract day, and closing; licensed partners handle licensed real estate work.
See how a purchase worksFree Japan Property Snapshot
Tell us your estimated all-in budget, preferred home type, and the places you are considering. The free Snapshot compares condos, houses, and older homes where you want to be.
Tell us your budget, preferred regions, and intended use. We show you where to look first.
Keep reading
Browse
Homes on the market now by price band and type across the country.
Open the guideCondos
Fees, building age, land rights, and city-by-city condo markets.
Open the guideTraditional
Kominka, machiya, and older houses with the checks that decide their estimated all-in budget.
Open the guidePrices
Median and entry asking prices by prefecture and city.
Open the guideProof
Published Google reviews from AkiyaHub members who bought a home in Japan. Every review is public and attributed.
We almost gave up trying to buy on our own. Thanks to AkiyaHub, we bought our first house in Japan.
Two other real estate agents never heard back after the initial call. AkiyaHub was proactive and reliable from day one.
We were third in line for the house we really wanted. AkiyaHub's persistence got us accepted.
Frequently asked questions
Buyers meet detached houses (ikkodate), condominiums (mansion), low-rise apartments (apato), row and terrace houses (nagaya), traditional kominka and minka, Kyoto-style machiya, and resort condos or vacation houses. Each has its own price logic, running costs, and checks.
A mansion is a condominium unit in a reinforced-concrete building with shared management, not a large luxury home. It is the most common type of home for sale in Japanese cities. Monthly management fees and repair reserves apply.
A mansion is a concrete condo building with units sold individually. An apato is a low-rise wooden or light-steel building with units that are rented. Owner-occupiers buy mansions; investors buy whole apato buildings.
Three bedrooms plus a combined living, dining, and kitchen room. A 2LDK+S adds a service room that does not count as a bedroom because of size or light.
Outside city centers, a typical house is a two-story wooden detached home of 90 to 120 square meters on 100 to 200 square meters of land, with a 3LDK or 4LDK layout, a small garden, and one parking space. In cities, a typical home is a 60 to 80 square meter condo.
New builder homes with land average roughly ¥35 million to ¥45 million outside Tokyo and far more inside it. They depreciate fastest in the first ten years. Homes built after 2000 hold value better than older homes because they meet the current seismic code.
Choose by use. A condo suits a city base you visit often and want managed. A detached house suits full-time or long-stay use with space. A kominka or machiya suits buyers who want character and accept renovation. The free Japan Property Snapshot compares the types your budget can reach in your target areas.
Sources and method
Type definitions follow Japanese listing conventions and the Building Standards Act. Typical asking ranges summarize current AkiyaHub market data and member purchases and are guidance, not quotes. The data includes detached houses, condos, and apartments and is not a complete census. Useful-life figures are the statutory depreciation periods, not measured service life.
Last verified . Reviewed by the AkiyaHub Japan team. AkiyaHub is not a real estate brokerage, and this page is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice.
Your next step
Start with the free Japan Property Snapshot. See which types of home your budget reaches, which prefectures and budget bands match your goals, and the next useful step.
Tell us your budget, preferred regions, and intended use. We show you where to look first.
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