Nasu Town in Tochigi has a vacancy rate of over 50% due to a large number of holiday homes that are considered vacant because they are not occupied all-year-round. Meanwhile, the town of 25,281 residents has just 9 rental listings.

According to the Statistics Bureau and the Tokyo Shimbun, the number of towns, cities and wards within the greater Tokyo area with vacancy rates below 10% has halved in the 10 years since 2003. In 2013, there were 56 districts with vacancy rates below 10% and 65 districts with vacancy rates over 15%.

Growing vacancy rates are caused by a variety of factors, including decline population in regional areas, an increase in the supply of housing, as well as an increase in the number of abandoned or uninhabitable homes that are left to rot instead of being demolished.

Highest vacancy rates

TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
[1] Toshima-ku 15.8%
[2] Ota-ku 14.8%
[3] Musashino City 14.1%
[4] Nakano-ku 13.7%
[5] Chiyoda-ku 13.3%
GREATER TOKYO AREA
[1] Nasu Town, Tochigi 50.5%
[2] Katsuura City, Chiba 36.8%
[3] Yugawara Town, Kanagawa 33.4%
[4] Isumi City, Chiba 28.6%
[5] Kamogawa City, Chiba 26.3%

 

Beware of relying on this data

Investors should not rely on this data as it is far from accurate for the rental market.

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