On August 9th, Kanazawa City announced a record number of contracts between Kanazawa-style machiya townhouse owners and buyers and tenants in 2017. A total of 12 contracts were signed in 2017.
The program is run by the city through their Kanazawa Machiya Information Center, which connects owners and agents with people looking to utilize the historic homes. The city’s service, which started operations in 2011, typically finds anywhere from 1 ~ 7 matches per year, but the opening of the Center in late 2016 has made it easier for interested owners and users to connect. The system operates similarly to many of the vacant home banks operated by local municipalities across the country. With the cooperation of the Ichikawa Prefecture Society of Architects and Engineers, machiya-style homes are registered online, with transaction support provided by the Ishikawa Takken Association.