I love watching videos of high-end houses and apartments. I know I'll probably never be able to afford one, but dreaming still feels good.
That said, after watching many videos and browsing listings for expensive mansions in Japan, I've noticed something: everything looks so cheap. Not only the layouts that are sometimes weird, but mostly interior that are super cheap. I’m always amazed to see condos selling for several million dollars (sometimes over ten million) with kitchens that look and feel similar to my cheap rental apartment here.
I love watching this French TV show about luxury properties, and for ten million in central Paris you get something exceptional in every regards. In Tokyo, i often watch the YouTube channel "Tokyo Portfolio" and what is shown there for sometimes over ten million dollars, I would not even buy half the price if I had the money :D.
I understand that Tokyo real estate is a bit of a bubble now, but so are Paris and other major cities. But the difference in quality is so big that I must miss something. Even in other Japanese cities, many expensive properties does not look much better than standard rental apartment.
So I’m curious if someone familiar with this market could explain why there seems to be such a difference between what is considered “luxury” housing in Japan and elsewhere. Do wealthy Japanese buyers simply have different expectations regarding materials and interior quality? Do all the money go to those fancy entrances? Or are many of these expensive condos mainly investment properties with nobody leaving, so it does not make sense to have nice interior? I get that real estate is not an "investment" here, but when we're talking of properties of several millions, there is also naturally an "expectation".
I know very luxurious properties exist here – I often buy "Brutus Casa" magazines, and some interiors are fantastic. But many properties marketed as luxury would never qualify as such elsewhere, and I would love to understand why.
by bakura10