Key facts
- Homes with a history of death or suicide are being sought by bargain hunters in Japan.
- Ryua pays 45,000 yen ($285) monthly for her Tokyo apartment, a 30% discount due to a previous suicide.
- Diane Tincher purchased a house in Kagoshima for 20m yen, half its usual price, because someone died alone there.
- Japanese estate agents must disclose suicides, murders, and deaths where bodies were undiscovered for three years in rentals and indefinitely for sales.
- Oshimaland is a crowdsourced website listing 'stigmatised' properties and the events that occurred there.
Homes with a history of death or suicide, known as 'jiko bukken' or 'stigmatised properties', are attracting bargain hunters in Japan. Ryua, a Tokyo resident, believes her apartment is haunted by a ghost and pays 30% less rent as a result. In Japan, estate agents are legally required to disclose such incidents for a period of time, a transparency not always present in countries like the UK or US. This has led to significant discounts for buyers and renters who are not superstitious. Diane Tincher, an American living in Japan, bought a house for half its market value because an elderly lady died alone there. The website Oshimaland, launched in 2005, crowdsources details of these properties, and a recent survey indicates that over half of Japanese people would consider renting a 'jiko bukken' if it was affordable.