Japan starts sale of houses for $500

The Japanese authorities are looking for citizens willing to take empty houses in rural areas, Report informs referring to the Insider.

In total, there are about 8 million such households - they are put up for sale at a price of $500.

To find occupants for its millions of "akiya," or unoccupied homes, the Japanese government is enticing would-be homeowners with financial incentives like free properties and sizable renovation subsidies.

Japan's Housing and Land Survey, conducted every five years, logged a record high of 8.49 million akiya in Japan in 2018. Many of these homes were left empty after relatives died or when people moved away, the survey found. The 2018 survey found a 3.2 percent increase in the number of akiya compared to 2013.

The report also found 13.6 percent of Japan's 62.42 million homes were unoccupied. This was particularly pronounced in the prefectures of Wakayama, Tokushima, Kagoshima, and Kochi, all of which recorded home vacancy rates of more than 18 percent.