Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Vacant houses in Newburgh, New York. Photo: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty
Japan's aging trend is swelling the number of vacant houses in the country: There were 3.47 million vacant private homes in Japan last year, up 9.1% since 2013. That's 5.5% of the total number of houses, according to Tomohiro Ebuchi and Shohei Nomoto of Nikkei.
The context: That's a lot, but the surge of housing vacancies — for varying reasons — is a global trend.
In the U.S.:
- The number of vacant homes that seemingly nobody wants to rent, sell or move into rose to 5.8 million in 2016, up 56% from 2005, according to a report by Alan Mallach of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The number soared in the financial crash, and is still high.
In China:
- As with almost everything economic, China's numbers are quite large by comparison (China only has numbers for total housing including apartments) — 22% of the country's urban stock of apartments and houses are empty, equaling some 50 million homes and apartments, according to a November piece in Bloomberg. For reference, one report, discussing blight in large U.S. cities, calls anything above 20% "hypervacancy."