Japanese Housing Trends
Some good information contained in the .pdf “Trends in the Japanese Housing Market” (Summer, 2003), put out by the The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Why Canada? Because Canada exports a lot of wood to supply the growing demand for 2 x 4 housing.
Of particular note is a recap of a survey of “Japanese Home Buyer’s Attitudes on the Environment and House Durability” (done by the EnviroLife Research Institute) which showed that Japanese now say that ideally a house should last 56 years, 7 years longer than was said 3 years prior. (Interestingly, that figure has risen by 12.9 years since the Great Hanshin Earthquake (Kobe) of 1995.)