Kanazawa — buying kominka and vacant houses

We buy vacant houses in Kanazawa as they are.

Many Kanazawa machiya survive in the teahouse districts, at the foot of Utatsuyama and on Teramachi-dai, and old houses dot the port towns of Kanaiwa and Ono and the hills of Yuwaku and Morimoto. Machiya are narrow and deep, well suited to conversion into shops and inns. A house at the end of a narrow lane where machinery cannot reach is expensive to demolish, but we appraise on a repair-not-demolish basis. We buy both types.

We buy vacant houses in Kanazawa City as they are, contents included. No clearing needed.
Kanazawa machiya suit shops and guesthouses, but where the alleys are narrow and demolition is costly, we appraise on the basis of repairing rather than demolishing.
For some older machiya, the city has a rule that you must notify it before demolition.
A subsidy is the "Kanazawa City subsidy for demolishing dangerous vacant houses".
Brokerage fee ¥0, free appraisal. As little as 2 weeks from the on-site survey.

Areas of Kanazawa we cover

Higashiyama

Kazuemachi

Foot of Utatsuyama

Teramachi

Nomachi and Izumi

Kanaiwa and Ono

Yuwaku

Morimoto

and the rest of the city and suburbs

and all of Kanazawa

We cover other districts too. Just tell us the location and rough condition to start. For Ishikawa outside Kanazawa (Noto, Nanao, Komatsu, Kaga), see Selling a vacant house or kominka in Ishikawa.

Houses in Kanazawa, and why they fall empty

Higashi Chaya district Teahouse architecture in the Higashi Chaya district, Kanazawa

※ Street scene in Kanazawa, not a property we handle. Photo: Zairon "Kanazawa Higashiyama Chaya 23"(CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped

Kanazawa escaped both wartime bombing and major earthquakes, so it keeps a great many old wooden buildings known as Kanazawa machiya. What sets the city apart is that prewar houses stand not only in the historic districts of Higashi Chaya, Kazuemachi, the foot of Utatsuyama and Teramachi-dai, but in ordinary residential streets too. The city works hard to preserve old machiya, and thinking about reuse before demolition has taken root.

In a tourist city like Kanazawa, machiya draw demand as shops and inns, and can be valued quite apart from a demolition price. We are a builder whose policy is to restore the houses we buy, not demolish them. Kanazawa is within an hour's drive of our head office in Yatsuo, Toyama City, so we can survey quickly.

If you want a wider view of the market before selling, see Using the akiya banks. You can talk to us even while your house is listed there.

How houses sell in Kanazawa

Kanazawa is a castle town that escaped wartime destruction, and many kanazawa-machiya townhouses survive. But with so many narrow lanes, on lots where heavy machinery can't get in, demolition costs run especially high. A Kanazawa machiya tends to be appraised cheaply on a demolition basis. On the other hand, plenty of people want one as a home, a shop or a guesthouse. That is why the gap with a no-demolition purchase price is so large.

Snow, roads and land in Kanazawa

It's not the amount of snow in Kanazawa but its quality — wet, heavy snow settles on roofs and garden trees. As the yukitsuri rope supports at Kenrokuen show, the town's houses have long been built to bear the weight of snow. But once a house stands vacant, upkeep stops, and damage starts from the tiles and gutters.

In the hillside quarters such as the foot of Utatsuyama and Teramachi-dai, stone and retaining walls matter to the appraisal as much as the building. Kanazawa also works hard to preserve its machiya, and certain old ones must be notified to the city before demolition. All the more reason, in this city, to check the keep-it price before arranging a demolition. If the storehouse behind the machiya is leaning, or a storehouse sharing a wall with the neighbour looks ready to fall, see What to do with a collapsing storehouse or barn.

Down a narrow lane where machinery cannot reach, eaves touching the neighbour's: common conditions in old Kanazawa. Compare a cleared-land appraisal that deducts the cost of demolition by hand with our keep-it appraisal, side by side. We visit Kanazawa regularly from our head office in Yatsuo, Toyama City.

Subsidies in Kanazawa

Kanazawa has subsidies for demolishing or renovating vacant houses. Budget and conditions are set each fiscal year, and starting work before the grant is approved disqualifies you as a rule. Whether selling, renting or repairing is best can depend on the scheme, so we check it alongside the appraisal.

Kanazawa City dangerous vacant-house demolition subsidy
Subsidises demolition of a privately owned vacant house that the city's inspection rates as dangerous and dilapidated. You must apply before signing the works contract, after consulting the building guidance division.

* Check the municipality's official page for current availability and requirements.

Kanazawa FAQ

Can I really sell a vacant house in Kanazawa without clearing it out?＋−

Yes. In Kanazawa too, we buy with the contents and the altar still inside; we dispose of them, so no clearing out. From machiya around the teahouse districts to the port towns of Kanaiwa and Ono and hill houses in Yuwaku and Morimoto, we take them all as they are.

How long from appraisal to handover in Kanazawa?＋−

As little as two weeks from the site survey. A few days from your request to the visit, and the price within a week. Our head office in Yatsuo, Toyama City is about an hour's drive from Kanazawa, so scheduling is flexible.

Another firm said it can't be sold without demolishing. Is that true in Kanazawa?＋−

We don't assume demolition. We repair the houses we buy and pass them on, so there is no demolition cost to deduct from the price. Kanazawa machiya are in strong demand as shops and inns, and the better the condition, the bigger the difference. Appraisal is free.

Will you buy an old house like a Kanazawa machiya without demolishing it?＋−

Yes, we look at it on a keep-it basis. Kanazawa machiya are in strong demand for restoration, and the better built, the bigger the difference in price. A house whose frame is too far gone to repair, however, may be appraised on a cleared-land basis or come out at nothing. In districts covered by the city's townscape rules, we proceed while checking the restrictions.

Can a house at the end of a narrow lane with no car access be sold?＋−

Yes. Where machinery cannot get in, demolition costs soar and a demolition-basis appraisal suffers. Since we repair and use, there is nothing to deduct for that.