Photo/Illutration A tour of a vacant “100-yen Akiya” house is held in Uozu, Toyama Prefecture, on Sept. 8 with the support of a real estate agent and a city official. (Michiyo Sato)

UOZU, Toyama Prefecture—A woman in her 40s was pleasantly pleased after taking a tour of a home up for sale.

The two-story wooden structure, built about 60 years ago, boasts five bedrooms and stands in a seaside urban area.

The asking price was equivalent to the cost of a piece of candy.

“It is a pretty-looking house, and what is wonderful about it is selling for 100 yen ($0.70),” she said on Sept. 8. “Our family loves fishing, so it is also conveniently located.”

The property became available under the Uozu city government’s “100-yen Akiya Bank” program, which was started this fiscal year to encourage sales of “akiya” abandoned homes by setting their price at 100 yen.

The municipality has been asking residents to register information on vacant homes under the “Akiya Bank” system and publicizing the list.

It introduced the 100-yen program in a further step to reduce the number of empty homes and reinvigorate the community by getting more people to move in.

Akiya are considered worthless if they fall into disrepair or suffer from other serious damage. The program puts akiya homes on the market when they are still in reasonably good shape.

Vacant homes eligible for the program are those that can be made habitable after renovation and sold in a month or so.

Buyers must move into the house with at least another occupant, intend to live for a long time and meet other conditions.

Akiya owners receive the city’s help to unload unused properties that still require maintenance costs and other expenses.

When city officials advertised the first property in August, three groups of potential buyers turned up from Uozu and the Kansai region.

The woman learned about the seaside property from a colleague. She and her husband live in a rented apartment in the city with their two children.

The property is owned by a man in his 80s, who lived in the house until about 20 years ago before he rented it out.

He thought about demolishing the house after the tenants moved out in autumn last year. But as soon as he learned about the 100-yen program, he filed an application.

“I raised my children here, so I feel a twinge of sadness if I have to tear it down,” he said. “If there are people who are happy to use it, I’d love to offer it even for 100 yen.”

The city was also inspired by the “Zero-yen Akiya Bank” program introduced by the Kamiichi town office also in Toyama Prefecture to trade vacant homes for free.

However, the Uozu officials decided to sell each akiya property for 100 yen.

Real estate dealers are restricted from trading properties for free, and without the 100-yen fee, they could be excluded from transactions under the program.

Officials said they hope to clear concerns and questions of buyers and sellers by having professional real estate agents explain important matters about properties.

City officials and agents can organize tours of the properties, and the owners can select the buyers after holding meetings with the applicants.

The city provides 200,000 yen in subsidies to the owner as a brokerage fee for the real estate agent, and up to 100,000 yen to dispose of household furnishings.

The buyer receives 500,000 yen in subsidies to register the house and perform other procedures, and up to 700,000 yen to renovate the home.

“We wish to serve as a bridge between homeowners who want to make use of their cherished homes and those who want to live in Uozu,” said an official at the urban planning division of the city government.

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