ideas: Japanese Disposable Homes

Freakonomics » Why Are Japanese Homes Disposable? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast
In most countries, houses get more valuable over time.
In Japan, a new buyer will often bulldoze the home. Why?


It is a combination of cultural preference for "new", and historical and geological.

• Earthquakes are very common and strong in Japan, and building code requirements are updated after large earthquakes. 
• During World War 2 large number of houses was destroyed, and replacements ware build quickly and not in good quality. 
• In Japan there is a cultural belief in natural renewal of all things (see Wikipedia article below)
• Houses are considered temporary, and as such not maintained very well, so after a while they are not in great shape.
• Value of houses depreciates over time, and as such it is not maintained
• Because they are considered temporary, houses are often build in unique taste, that may not match desires of next owner... 
• House buildings fully depreciate in 20-30 years in Japan. The land has more stable value, but that is also subject to large fluctuations

Some observers say that this is no effective for building wealth in the society... 

Ise Grand Shrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The shrine buildings at Naikū and Gekū, as well as the Uji Bridge, are rebuilt every 20 years as a part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature and the impermanence of all things — wabi-sabi — and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next.