People with Dementia is Said to Occupy Majority of Japan’s Condominiums in 2030

Buying a condominium is not a goal, but a start. If you do not determine how far you can grow old with the property, before you know it, the house you live in may become ‘negative real estate’ that drags down your life.

This is the opinion of Rie Kusakabe, author of ” 60-sai Kara no Mansion Gaku” (Condominium Studies from the Age of 60 ) (Kodansha + Alpha Shinsho). In the age of 100 years of life, there is a great possibility that the property you bought thinking it would be your final home will deteriorate over time and turn into a slum or a “ghost condominium” full of vacancies. We asked Mr. Kusakabe what can be done to avoid such a situation. He also wrote a book titled “Condominium Studies for 60-Year-Olds.”

As mentioned in “Condominium Studies for 60-Year-Olds,” it is said that by 2030 there will be 4,050,000 condominiums that are 30 years old or older. This is more than half of the total number of condominium units in stock.

On the other hand, the supply of newly built condominiums has reached a ceiling, so that one out of every two condominiums that one tries to buy will be a used condominium that is at least 30 years old. Under these circumstances, we are faced with “two types of aging”: our own and that of the building.

For example, there will be elderly residents who are hospitalized for long periods of time and are not at home most of the time, and who are struggling to pay the management fee and the reserve fund for repairs to cover the hospitalization expenses. In addition, there will be an increasing number of cases where a resident dies and his/her family renounces the inheritance and the apartment becomes vacant. This will make it difficult to reach a consensus on a management association for condominiums due to a lack of board members and funds.

The combination of an aging condominium that is falling apart, a lack of funds for repairs, and delays in reaching a consensus will accelerate the aging of the building. New residents will not move into condominiums where the entrances and plantings, which are the face of condominiums, are dying and facilities are in disrepair.

It is possible that rooms will be left empty and the only people who will remain will be those who have nowhere else to live and who are unable to sell or dispose of the property on their own. It would not be surprising to see condominiums where elderly people with dementia who have no relatives are wandering the tattered hallways ……, creating social problems.

There was an accident in 2020 in Florida, U.S., where a condominium collapsed, but large-scale repairs were being considered before the accident. As condominiums age, there is a danger that they will require larger amounts of money, consensus building will fail, and serious defects will be left unattended. There is no such thing as “it’s Japanese housing, so it’s okay.”

Condominiums, like houses, cannot be repaired or cleared at a time of your choosing. Therefore, it is necessary to change houses at the appropriate time when they no longer suit one’s lifestyle.

The traditional “housing backgammon” was to rent a house while young, move to a condominium when you get married, save up money to buy a single-family house, and make it your final home. Nowadays, however, one of the options is to move from a condominium to a condominium again, or from a single-family home to a condominium again.

The idea of “a home for the end of one’s life” or the end of one’s life after purchasing a house has become old-fashioned, and although it may be dry, it is better to consider purchasing a house after setting goals such as “how long I can live with this house” and “when I no longer need this house, can I expect to sell this house?

Of course, there are condominiums in good condition that can be your “final home. The trick to selecting a good condominium is to identify a property where there is a “metabolism” of residents. As an example, even if the building is old, a property where “mature households who lived in a newly built apartment” and “young households who bought a used apartment and renovated it and are living in it” coexist can be said to have a new life.

Nowadays, it is said that it is ironclad to buy a new condominium with a station walking distance of “within 7 minutes,” and the number of properties that do not allow for a large square footage in new construction is increasing. When selecting a property, these numbers are often the first things that come to mind, but as the saying goes, “buy the management of the apartment,” it is necessary to actually see the property and check what the neighbors are like and how the property is being managed.

The “internal inspection” is the place to confirm this. First, we recommend that you look at the apartment building from the outside and check the condition of the balcony. If the balcony is covered with bird nets, it may have been damaged by pigeons or crows. Rooms where a large amount of garbage is left unattended, or where a storage room or BS antenna is installed, may have residents who cannot follow the rules and can be the spark of trouble.

Next, when actually viewing the rooms, check for areas that cannot be seen on the property’s drawings. First of all, there is the “smell.” There are cases where bad odors come up from dirty drains or drain pipes. Also, surprisingly important is “window height. If the windows are low, there is a possibility of poor sunlight.

And it is important to check the bulletin board in the common area of the apartment. Noise, parking lot (bicycle parking), and pets” are said to be the three major troubles in condominiums, and if there is a problem among residents, a warning or a request may be posted on the bulletin board. You may also be able to check the general situation regarding the progress of repairs and renovations.

The price of condominiums in urban areas continues to remain high, with people in their 20s unable to afford them because they are too expensive, people in their 30s and 40s unable to move easily due to child-rearing and work restrictions, and a nationwide surplus of rooms available. Selling a condominium is much more difficult than “buying” one, and no one tells you how to do it. It’s never too early to start planning how many times you will move house in your life.