How much are the transaction costs (諸費用) when buying in Japan?
As a rule of thumb, budget roughly 6–10% of the price for a used home and about 3–7% for a new one on top of the purchase price. This 諸費用 stack covers the agent fee, registration and acquisition taxes, stamp duty, the judicial scrivener, loan fees, and insurance. Our calculator estimates the exact figure for your situation.
Can foreigners buy property in Japan?
Yes. Property ownership in Japan is not restricted by nationality or visa status — foreigners, including non-residents living abroad, can own land and buildings outright with the same rights as Japanese nationals. There is no citizenship, permanent-residency, or residence requirement to own. The hard part is not owning; it's getting a mortgage.
Do I need permanent residency to buy a home?
Not to OWN — anyone can own. But to BORROW, permanent residency (永住権) is the big dividing line. With PR (or a Japanese spouse who co-signs), most banks will consider you on normal terms. Without PR, your options narrow to foreign-friendly lenders and programs like Flat 35, usually with a longer work history, a larger down payment, and sometimes a higher rate. Cash buyers face none of this.
What is the 仲介手数料 (agent fee) and how is it calculated?
It's the brokerage commission. The legal upper limit for a property over ¥4,000,000 is (price × 3% + ¥60,000) + 10% consumption tax — the '3% + 6万円' formula. It's a cap, not a fixed price, so it can be negotiated. If you buy a new home directly from the developer there is no agent and the fee is ¥0. Since July 2024, properties ≤¥8M can be charged up to ¥330,000.
What taxes do I pay when buying?
Three main ones, all charged on the assessed value (not the price): 登録免許税 (registration tax) on the land, building, and mortgage; 不動産取得税 (acquisition tax), often ¥0 for owner-occupied homes after the ¥12,000,000 building deduction and land credit; and 印紙税 (stamp duty) on the contract. Each has a reduced rate with a statutory expiry date, which our calculator shows next to the line.
Why is the 不動産取得税 sometimes ¥0?
Because of the reductions for owner-occupied homes. The residential building gets a ¥12,000,000 deduction before the 3% rate applies, so if the building's assessed value is under that, the building portion is ¥0. Residential land is assessed at half, and a separate land credit usually offsets the land portion entirely. The result is that many owner-occupiers pay little or no acquisition tax — but it's billed a few months after purchase, so don't forget it.
Are the taxes based on the price I pay?
No — they're based on the 固定資産税評価額 (assessed value) set by the municipality, which is typically around 70% of market for land and 50–60% of build cost for a new building (lower for used, after depreciation). Because assessed value is not the purchase price, any tax estimate from your price is approximate. Your 登記 documents and 課税明細書 carry the real figures.
What do the tax-reduction expiry dates mean?
Most of the purchase-tax reductions (the lower registration-tax rates, the 3% acquisition-tax rate, the stamp-duty discount) are temporary measures with legal end dates — currently mostly 2027-03-31, with the land registration reduction running to 2029-03-31. They're renewed on a schedule, usually each April. Our tool shows each reduction's expiry date, and if one lapses without renewal it falls back to the standard rate.
What are the loan fees, and what's the difference between 事務手数料型 and 保証料型?
事務手数料型 (admin-fee type) charges a one-off fee of about 2.2% of the loan with no separate guarantee fee, usually paired with a lower interest rate — common at net banks. 保証料型 (guarantee-fee type) charges a small admin fee (~¥33,000) plus a lump-sum guarantee fee of about 2% of the loan, or +0.2% on the rate — common at megabanks. Both land around 2% of the loan; over the full term, the interest rate matters more than the upfront fee.
How much is the judicial scrivener (司法書士)?
About ¥80,000–150,000 for handling the registrations — transferring ownership and, if you have a loan, registering the mortgage. This is the scrivener's professional fee, separate from the registration taxes they pay to the government on your behalf. It runs higher when a mortgage registration is involved.
Do I owe property tax every year after buying?
Yes — 固定資産税 (1.4% of assessed value) and, in urban areas, 都市計画税 (up to 0.3%), billed together each spring. A big reduction applies to residential land: for the portion up to 200㎡ the 固定資産税 base is cut to one-sixth. New buildings also get their building tax halved for the first 3 years (5 for a mansion). These bring the real bill well below the headline rate.
What is the first-year property-tax proration at closing?
固定資産税 is billed for the whole year to whoever owns the property on January 1. By long-standing market custom (not law), when you buy mid-year you reimburse the seller for the days from your closing date to year-end — a 日割り proration line on your closing statement. Budget for it; it's not part of the headline 諸費用 but it appears at settlement.
Should I buy new or used?
That's your decision, but the key fact for foreign buyers is that Japanese buildings depreciate — a wooden house is often valued near zero after ~20–25 years, while land holds its own value. New homes carry a premium you lose immediately; a well-chosen used (中古) home often offers far more value for money. Check the construction date against the 1981 earthquake standard (新耐震) and get an inspection. Think 'land plus a depreciating structure', not 'appreciating asset'.
Is buying better than renting in Japan?
There's no universal answer, and we don't give a verdict. Renting wins on mobility and avoids the ~6–10% transaction costs and the building depreciation; buying can build equity in the land and, at today's low owner-occupier rates, rival rent monthly. The right choice depends on how long you'll stay, your visa stability, whether you can get a loan, and the land-versus-building split. The longer and more settled your situation, the more buying can make sense.
Does buying a home affect my visa or give me residency?
No. Owning property in Japan does not grant, extend, or count toward any visa or residency status — and it doesn't jeopardise your visa either. Ownership and immigration status are entirely separate. Buying a home is not a route to a visa.
Where do the rates and figures come from?
The tax rates and reductions are from 国税庁 (National Tax Agency), 総務省 (Ministry of Internal Affairs), and 法務局 (Legal Affairs Bureau) sources, each encoded with its statutory expiry date. The agent-fee cap is set by 宅建業法. Scrivener and insurance figures are market ranges, and assessed values are estimated from your price using stated heuristics. Everything is informational, not advice — confirm current figures with a professional before you transact.