The space of change: charting the peculiarity of Japanese houses

via wallpaper.com

The Japanese housing market is a peculiar phenomenon. Unlike homes in Western nations, Japanese residences depreciate rapidly in value over time. As argued by economists Richard Koo and Masaya Sasaki in a 2008 report, a typical home loses all economic value within 15 years of being built. Houses, too, have a limited physical lifespan – an estimated average of twenty years for wooden buildings, and thirty for concrete structures.
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