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Notes -
Please no, rent is already increasing enough out here as it is.
Wow, rents in the Japanese countryside are going up? Is the housing stock there finally decaying faster than the population, or have people been moving back out for retirement?
There are varying degrees of countryside. We live within several hours of a tier 1 city, and covid outmigration put upward pressure on rents. If you live somewhere tucked away in a valley 12+ hours away by train from any major city, rent is probably stable.
But you also have to consider that housing that's >20 years old (a generous estimate) is essentially condemnable in the minds of the Japanese public, so when there's upward rent pressure, it's on a small fraction of the housing market (recent construction) which magnifies the effect. I've seen apartments near the station in my medium sized town, which is in a prefecture that does not border a metropolis, that are now asking near the same rent as in the suburbs of a metropolis. Truly nowhere is safe in developed countries.
Apologies in advance for typos as I'm enjoying some fine sake this evening.
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