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Why is the Homeownership Rate So High in Hokuriku (Fukui and Toyama)?
(This is a zoo located in the Hokuriku region. The setting is a conversation between a leopard and a hippopotamus, whose enclosures happen to be next to each other.)
I’ve been like this since I was little, so I’ve gotten used to it.
But I do long for a home that feels like me. After all, I could choose the softness of the soil I like. The swamp at the zoo is just a bit too soft, though.
That’s true. While humans live in impressive homes, we, the ones in the zoo, are confined to an environment far from the great outdoors.
What’s even more ironic is that the Hokuriku region, especially Toyama and Fukui, boasts some of the highest homeownership rates in Japan.
Wow, I didn’t know that. I wonder why people in Toyama and Fukui have such a high rate of homeownership.
To be more precise, the prefectures on the Japan Sea side in the northern part of Honshu, including Hokuriku, almost without exception, have a high rate of homeownership.
Quoted from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications website. The chart represents the homeownership rate by prefecture (2018) Ishikawa is somewhat of an exception, but when you add the climate, natural environment, and lifestyle habits of the heavy snowfall areas, along with the unique circumstances of each region, these factors likely contribute to the high rate of homeownership.
For example, what circumstances contribute to the high homeownership rate in Toyama Prefecture?
In the past, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Katazakai from Marutaka House (Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture) and Mr. Shibakusa from Daiwa House about this matter.
How did you ask them? Did you manage to get away again?
Ah, I slipped out of the zoo after it closed.
The truth is, I could easily jump over the zoo’s fence. I just pretend that I can’t, because the humans are usually noisy and it’s a hassle.
Of course, Daiwa House, but I also remember hearing about Marutaka House. It’s a company founded in 1914 that builds sturdy, timber-framed houses similar to the gassho-zukuri style of Gokayama in Toyama.
I’m sometimes surprised by the strangely skewed knowledge you have…
Well, whatever.
Mr. Katazakai and Mr. Shibakusa shared the same opinion: they told me that land is relatively abundant in Toyama, and the land prices are low, which is why the homeownership rate is higher.
Not just in Toyama, but also in areas along the Japan Sea, like Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, and Fukui, the land prices (average official land prices) tend to be lower compared to the large metropolitan areas on the Pacific side of Honshu.
Ishikawa Prefecture, which is an exception with a lower homeownership rate on the Sea of Japan side, falls into the high land price group nationally (in terms of official land price averages).
The source of this information is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s land price public announcement and prefectural land price surveys.
I see. So the low land prices are a factor? What else?
It seems that another factor is that there are many dual-income households with stable incomes, which allows more people to build their own homes.
As expected, building a home in the human world requires a lot of money.
Even looking at the Basic Survey on Employment Structure (FY 2017 edition) released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications every five years, the top three prefectures with the highest dual-income rates are Fukui (1st), Yamagata (2nd), and Toyama (3rd).
All of these are municipalities with some of the highest homeownership rates in the country.
I see…
Based on a certain hypothesis, I conducted a survey and considered other possible reasons.
A survey? How did you conduct it?
I waited for a time when the zookeepers wouldn’t notice, then placed survey sheets and pencils outside the enclosure. I targeted university students who came on dates to the zoo.
What did you ask them?
When I asked university students born in Toyama Prefecture whether their family home was an owned detached house and whether their parents were both working, the results were as follows:
Out of 45 university students from Toyama Prefecture, 86.7% answered that their family home was a detached house, while 13.3% said it was a rental.
Just as expected from Toyama Prefecture with its high homeownership rate! Nearly 90% answered that their family home was an owned detached house.
Next, the results regarding whether the parents are both working are shown in the chart above. 44 people answered this question.
About 70% answered that both parents are working. It shows that there are many dual-income couples in Toyama Prefecture.
The main point starts here. I asked the same students whether they would like to build a house in the future (whether they want to own their own home). The results are shown in the next graph.
Almost 90% of the people answered that they would like to build their own house in the future.
The respondents are university students, so they are not at an age where their future is fully clear.
Even so, most students want to build a house (own their own home) in the future.
And did you notice? It might be coincidental since the sample size is small, but the percentage of students who grew up in a detached house (owned home) and those who grew up in a rental perfectly matches the ratio of students who want to build a house in the future to those who don’t.
Children who grew up in an owned home tend to prefer owning a home themselves.
Well then, do you think the trend of high homeownership rates will continue in the prefectures along the Sea of Japan on the western side of Honshu?
I don’t know. However, it’s expected that the number of new housing starts will decrease.
In an aging society with a declining population, the demand for new homes is shrinking rapidly.
According to Mr. Katazakai from Marutaka House, there are now many very durable homes, so there’s not much need to rebuild existing houses.
Even if children grow up and live with their parents, it seems that renovations, rather than rebuilding, could become mainstream.
Even if people do build new homes, as families with fewer children will likely live in them, the home size will continue to get smaller.
Wow, I see! I’ve learned something new. Thank you!
But I’m starting to feel a bit tired. Can I go back into the water?
Well, well. Do as you please.
However, the people you should thank are Mr. Katazakai from Marutaka House, Mr. Shibakusa from Daiwa House, and the university students who kindly answered the survey.
Also, we must be grateful to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau for gathering various data and providing a system that allows the public (and animals) to freely access it when needed.
After all, it’s thanks to them that we can somehow get through the dull everyday life.
The setting for the leopard and hippo is fictional. However, the information about homeownership is based on actual research.
Story: Kisuke Takano
Illustration: Mariko Noguchi
Editing: Masayoshi Sakamoto, Fumiya Otsubo
Editorial Support: Hiroyuki Akashi, Yasushi Takei, Nao Shimizu
You’re back in the water again? The comfort of a pond made by a zookeeper can’t be that great.