Nobody cares so much anymore about a good view. Instead, they’re asking what will happen when the next big quake hits.
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Toru Matsumura, head of the real estate investment team at the Tokyo-based NLI Research Institute. Sales of high-rise apartment units have plummeted in Tokyo since the March 11 earthquake. (New York Times)
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7 Comments
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1
ihavegreatlegs
High rises are safe from Tsunami. High rises should be built in the tsunami stricken areas in the higher level areas like they do in Hong Kong.
1
Pukey2
They build them everywhere in HK, not just on higher land.
I've seen a lot of new apts in Tokyo, and they're damn expensive for their size.
0
taj
Simple things like loss of electricity are problematic when you live on the 10th floor...
0
Kronos
My real estate agent told me the same thing - that sales of high-rise apartments have come down significantly since the earthquake. Also not just high-rises but he mentioned that there is now a tendency people are looking to live on lower floors instead of higher after the quake.
One big reason is that people were scared out of their minds when the quake hit. Another was that some of these apartments had problems when the land got damaged i.e. no water or electricity for a couple of days or even longer. It made no difference if the apartment was itself was OK when they did not have the basic utilities.
Also quite a few of these high-rises are built on reclaimed land. Those ones are also not being sold that much since buyers now prefer solid ground after the quake.
I remember reading the original article in NYT. It is called "After Quake, Japanese Choose Peace of Mind Over Great View. Check it out. It is an interesting read.
0
ExportExpert
The reasons mentioned above are the very reasons why I bought a house on a hill, atleast if the house crumbles i can pitch a tent on my land for shelter, use my BBQ to cook with, use a solar lantern for light, and sh!t in the ground.
Survival will be easier than being in a multi story apartment as it crumbles or sinks into the liquified earth beneath it on reclaimed land, and then having to share what little space / resources are left available with 200 other neighbours.
1
Mark_McCracken
After the Kobe quake, I took the opposite approach. I always try to get on the highest floor. It seemed the middle or especially the bottom floors were the ones that were most often collapsed.
2
Cos
Weird choice... Obviously in Kobe, only sky-scrappers stayed up. Of course, after, people couldn't stay in their flat just after and had to go elsewhere for a few weeks, but those in small villas on the ills, they had their roofs collapsed on their heads and their land sliding down, and survivors had to leave for months or years.
"no water or electricity for a couple of days or even longer. "
Better than dead forever. But I undrestand the feeling is they simply don't want to buy.
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