Looking for Real Estate Agent (Buying Land / House / Akiyas)

5 comments

1. Are you a resident of Japan?

2. Probably impossible in 2-3 days unless you’re a national or have residency

3. I believe the challenge here would be the breath of property types you want to look at combined with English requirements and limited time.

   For Akiya, you can check out the Kyoto Akiya bank, no idea if they have English support but you could check website for ideas and pricing.

   For heritage property (machia, guest house, investment) there are some foreign friendly options such as Hachise.

   For investment, I don’t think you need to do this while you’re in country. Lots of companies focused on this and they will most likely have access to the same inventory.

   If you have no intention to buy while here, maybe just doing some research on a site like Summo could help you understand pricing, availability etc. they have a site which is easy to use and can filter by all properly types.

4. It seems you’ve stumbled upon a bunch of replies probably from local Japanese people that want you to change your mind. Well, I’m a foreigner and have bought and built 3 properties, and will attempt to give you a helpful answer. But, first, let’s confirm what others have said:

   1. Yes, Akiya’s are trash and a bad idea
   2. Yes, investment in Japan is a depreciating asset and not an investment
   3. Yes, owning a home a 9 hour flight away is not a great idea
   4. Yes, there are problems with working remotely and visas
   5. yes, you must pay cash only

   In the event you still want to move forward, the first problem with your post is that you didn’t state a budget clearly. So, it’s difficult to help. You also gave a massive range of “akiya” to “buy land and build a custom home”. These couldn’t be more polar opposite.

   So, let’s take how I would approach the problem as an experienced foreigner thats built multiple properties and land

   1. I would go on instagram and make a new account and start following custom home builders in Kyoto. Once you follow one, you’ll start getting recommendations for lots of others. I like this company’s homes a lot, i think they’re in Gifu or something – not sure. [https://www.instagram.com/ogawa_kenbi/](https://www.instagram.com/ogawa_kenbi/) It’s a starting point
   2. I would go on websites like [athome.co.jp](http://athome.co.jp) and [homes.co.jp](http://homes.co.jp) and look for “building conditions” land for sale. look up the builder on instagram and start following them.
   3. I would then be scheduling my time with a BUILDER whose designs you really like and who is generally in the vicinity of where you want to live – not a real estate agent. the builder can introduce LAND to you.
   4. Secondarily, I would be searching the same real estate websites above looking for residential land with no building conditions – ideally land in a “community” setting e.g: multiple adjacent residential plots for sale. I’d probably be setting my minimum price range to something north of 10 million yen if you want something good. my last land purchase (and i am in the middle of nowhere) was about 7 million for 250 sqm. I imagine kyoto center is going to be 10-20m. Gifu maybe more like 7-15m.

   I would NOT waste my time on Akiya, real estate agents, etc. Agents are more for second hand properties or buying pre-built new vacant properties (which sucks also).

   if your budget is under 10m – then forget everything i said and just do whatever you want 😉 that’s a very low entry point $$ and anything you buy is most likely to be terrible and a waste of money.

5. I don’t know too much, but I do like daydreaming of buying Akias. [Akiya website ](https://findakiyas.com/?rdt_cid=5798084787055134249) this website has many and a search function across Japan. I don’t know how legit it is, but it might be helpful.

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