![]() Thirty percent of homes in Japan's urban areas were destroyed in World War II. So what's Tokyo's secret? Experts say it mostly comes down to liberal and centralized land-use policies, shaped over decades, that give developers a lot of power to build what they want, when they want. And most of what happens in Tokyo would be illegal in America. Part of the answer is that build-happy Tokyo isn't in control of its own housing policies. Housing advocates across America are starting to ask the same question. In September, when New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his plan to build 100,000 new homes, he pointed enviously to Tokyo's ability to keep "housing costs down by increasing the supply of housing." "How are we allowing Tokyo to do things better than us?" he asked. Rent for a studio or one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo, which Americans are fawning over as " the new Paris," is a quarter of what it is in New York. The median Japanese tenant spends about 20% of their disposable income on rent (in America it's 30%). And because housing is far more abundant in Japan's capital, it's also cheaper. Since the 1960s, Tokyo has tripled its housing supply, while New York's has grown by only about a third. ![]() Despite facing many of the same pressures of scarce land and a growing population, the city of 14 million builds much more housing - and much more quickly - than US cities do. The median home price in the US has jumped 52% just since January 2020.īut affordability isn't an issue in the world's biggest city, Tokyo. Americans fleeing New York and San Francisco for more affordable lives in the Sunbelt are experiencing sticker shock. Superstar metropolises from Los Angeles to Miami are becoming playgrounds for the elite. It often indicates a user profile.Ĭities across the US are flailing under a worsening housing affordability crisis. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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