JP Japan · Housing affordability
How much house can I afford in Japan?
A household in Japan with gross income of JPYa year, with JPYin savings available, can afford ...
Maximum purchase price . Flat 35 affordability test
JPY 30M
Bound by your down payment · JPY 27M mortgage on JPY 3M down
The two rules
Japan has two rules. Both must be met.
Flat 35 caps your repayment ratio at 30% of gross income for most borrowers. Without 10% down, you pay a higher interest rate — and banks may decline outright.
30%
Maximum repayment ratio
Total annual debt service — mortgage repayment including principal and interest — cannot exceed 30% of gross annual income. Flat 35 uses 25% for income below JPY 4M and 35% above; we model 30% as a blended figure.
repayment <= income x 0.30
10%
Expected down payment
To qualify for the standard Flat 35 rate (90% LTV), you need at least 10% down. Financing above 90% LTV is possible but at a higher rate, and most banks expect cash for closing costs on top.
atama-kin >= 0.10 x price
Have a place in mind?
Drop in a price and see where it fails.
Each test is independent: you need to clear both. The 30% repayment rule limits your monthly payment; the down payment rule ensures you get the standard Flat 35 rate.
JPY
2 of 2 tests fail.
30% repayment ratioshort JPY 1.20M
You have JPY 5M/yrNeed JPY 6.20M/yr
10% down paymentshort JPY 750k
You have JPY 3MNeed JPY 3.75M
The lever you can actually pull
Two ceilings. Whichever is lower wins.
With your savings fixed, the price you can afford scales linearly with income — until the down payment rule starts to bind. Above the kink, more salary will not buy you a bigger place; more savings will.
What you can affordIncome limit (5.6× gross)Total down (5× cash + pension)
Your monthly budget
What you would actually pay each month.
Flat 35 uses the fixed rate — no stress test. Your monthly payment at 2.1% over 35 years is what you qualify on and what you pay.
Monthly headroom
3,750
The stress test charges you 1.0× what you will actually pay. That spread is what you have, in theory, to absorb a rate cycle, or invest, if you would rather.
Where this lands you
Median mansion (apartment), by city.
Your purchase-price ceiling (drawn in cyan) cuts across the price of a typical mansion in Japan's largest cities. Cities above the line are out of reach without more income or more savings.
Tokyo (23 wards)
JPY 92M
Yokohama
JPY 50M
Osaka
JPY 45M
Kyoto
JPY 42M
Fukuoka
JPY 38M
Nagoya
JPY 35M
Kobe
JPY 32M
Sendai
JPY 30M
Sapporo
JPY 28M
Hiroshima
JPY 27M
Within reachOut of reachYour ceiling · JPY 30M
Before you sign
This is probably the largest financial commitment of your life.
A home purchase is not just the price tag. There are significant costs on top that are not included in the affordability test above.
~3-4%
Registration & acquisition tax
Registration and license tax (~0.4%), real estate acquisition tax (~3%), and stamp duty. These are payable in cash at closing and are not included in the Flat 35 loan amount.
~3%
Real estate agent fee
The standard agent commission is (price x 3% + JPY 60,000) + consumption tax. For a JPY 50M property, this is approximately JPY 1.7M. Payable at contract signing and settlement.
~1.4%/yr
Fixed asset tax + city planning tax
Annual fixed asset tax (koteishisan-zei) at 1.4% of assessed value plus city planning tax at 0.3%. Assessed value is typically 50-70% of market value for mansions, so effective rate is lower than headline.
None of this means you should not buy. It means you should go in with open eyes. The affordability test tells you what you can do. Whether you should depends on how long you plan to stay, your alternative investments, and the local market dynamics.
For scale
What else costs about JPY 30M?
- A Lexus LX 600, new · JPY 13M2.31×
- Maxing out a NISA growth account for 5 years (JPY 2.4M/year) · JPY 12M2.50×
- A used 1LDK mansion in Sapporo · JPY 15M2.00×
- JPY 100,000/month invested at 5% real for 20 years · JPY 39M0.77×
- A new 2LDK mansion in Fukuoka · JPY 35M0.86×
- A 3LDK mansion in central Osaka (Namba area) · JPY 55M0.55×
- A 2LDK mansion in Shibuya, Tokyo · JPY 80M0.38×
- A detached house with garden in Kamakura · JPY 95M0.32×
- A traditional machiya townhouse in Kyoto, fully restored · JPY 120M0.25×
See the full income x down payment matrix
income (down) / savings (right)
JPY 30k
JPY 60k
JPY 100k
JPY 200k
30,000/yr
JPY 181k
income-bound
JPY 181k
income-bound
JPY 181k
income-bound
JPY 181k
income-bound
50,000/yr
JPY 300k
savings-bound
JPY 302k
income-bound
JPY 302k
income-bound
JPY 302k
income-bound
80,000/yr
JPY 300k
savings-bound
JPY 484k
income-bound
JPY 484k
income-bound
JPY 484k
income-bound
120,000/yr
JPY 300k
savings-bound
JPY 600k
savings-bound
JPY 726k
income-bound
JPY 726k
income-bound
180,000/yr
JPY 300k
savings-bound
JPY 600k
savings-bound
JPY 1M
savings-bound
JPY 1.09M
income-bound
Gross income used. Flat 35 at 2.1%, 35-year term.
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Track every account that feeds into your down payment: savings, NISA, iDeCo, brokerage — all in one place. We re-check your affordability against your live balances every night.
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Next steps
Tools and guides to get you there.
Mortgage calculatorBuild an amortization schedule with extra payments. See total interest and how fast you pay it off.CalculateSavings goal plannerSet your down-payment target and a deadline. We back-solve the monthly savings rate you need.PlanCompound interestSee how your down-payment savings grow over time. Visualize the difference one extra year makes.ProjectBuying your first homeA step-by-step guide covering down payments, mortgage options, and the true cost of homeownership.Read
Frequently asked
Flat 35 is a government-backed fixed-rate mortgage program administered by the Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF). The rate is fixed for the entire 35-year term, providing certainty against Japan's historically volatile rate environment. The current rate is approximately 2.1%. Flat 35 requires earthquake-resistance and energy-efficiency standards, and offers rate discounts (Flat 35 S) for homes that exceed those standards.
Bank variable-rate loans start at approximately 0.5%, far below Flat 35's ~2.1%. However, they expose you to rate-rise risk — if the Bank of Japan normalizes rates, monthly payments could jump significantly. Flat 35 locks in today's rate for 35 years. The choice depends on your risk tolerance and how long you plan to hold. Most Japanese first-time buyers choose variable rates, but the recent BOJ policy shift has made Flat 35 increasingly popular.
Yes. Flat 35 (Reform) allows you to finance both the purchase and renovation of an existing property in a single loan. The combined amount is subject to the same repayment ratio limits. Many older Japanese properties (especially pre-1981 earthquake code) can be purchased cheaply but require significant seismic retrofitting to qualify for Flat 35. The renovation cost typically runs JPY 3-10M depending on scope.
Fire insurance is mandatory for all Japanese mortgages and typically covers fire, lightning, and wind damage. Earthquake insurance (jishin hoken) is a separate, government-backed product that covers up to 50% of the fire insurance sum (max JPY 50M for building, JPY 10M for contents). It is not mandatory but strongly recommended. The premium varies by region and building structure — Tokyo wooden houses pay the highest rates. Earthquake insurance costs are not included in the affordability test above.
Traditionally, yes — Japanese wooden houses depreciate to near zero over 20-25 years, and the land accounts for most of the value. Mansions (condominiums) hold value better but still depreciate. However, prime central Tokyo and Osaka have seen significant price appreciation since 2013 due to foreign investment, BOJ monetary policy, and limited supply. The national picture is highly bifurcated: urban cores are appreciating while rural and suburban properties continue to decline, with millions of akiya (vacant houses) available for very low prices.
Yes — Japan has no restrictions on foreign property ownership. Non-residents can buy land and buildings freely. However, obtaining a mortgage as a non-resident is extremely difficult; most banks require permanent residency or at least a valid work visa and several years of Japanese tax history. Flat 35 is available to permanent residents. Foreign buyers typically either pay cash or arrange financing through international banks. Since 2022, foreign buyers must report their home country address to the Ministry of Justice.