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RE: Random Japan #31 :: Around the Neighborhood
A common sight. Few people want to buy used houses in this country. Because of this, houses have almost no value and are knocked down often to make way for new houses to be built.
You may have gotten it the wrong way round.
If is correct what I have read in an urban planning blog then a house's worth is calculated at a fixed rate from building - e.g. after 30 years, the house has no worth (in the books, like in a company) and as such, by building new, you are not losing any money.
Having a house standing may actually lower the worth of your land when you want to sell.
You may be right. I really don't know the details. All I know is that in the US the used house market is very large, with most people buying and living in used homes and in many cases selling the homes for more money than they paid for them. Yet in Japan very few people buy used homes. They are worthless because no one wants one, so they are almost always knocked down as soon as the owned dies or sells.