If your budget is small, the first question is where to look. An akiya (an empty home in Japan) can cost very little in one prefecture and several times more in the next. This guide uses the homes listed on Engawa to show how asking prices differ by prefecture, and what the cheaper end of the market actually looks like.
All figures are as of 8 October 2026. They cover 8,668 live homes for sale on Engawa. Of those, 7,524 show a price and 1,144 do not.
What do these prices mean?
These are asking prices, in yen, as the seller or the municipal akiya bank lists them. Nothing we hold records what a home finally sold for, so we cannot tell you the price people actually paid. Treat every figure here as a starting point for a conversation, not a market value.
Two more things to know. A few homes are listed at 0 yen, usually by akiya banks. We count those as "under 1 million yen". And "under 3 million" means below 3,000,000 yen, so a home at exactly 3,000,000 is not in that group. That matters, because asking prices bunch up on round numbers.
How much does an akiya cost across Japan?
Across the whole catalogue, the median asking price is 4,000,000 yen. The median is the middle value: half of the priced homes ask less, half ask more.
- Under 1 million yen: 624 homes. That is about 1 in 12 of the priced homes (624 of 7,524).
- Under 3 million yen: 2,577 homes, about a third of the priced homes.
- Under 5 million yen: 4,333 homes.
So a budget of 5 million yen is not a stretch in this market. More than half of the priced homes ask less than that.
Which prefectures are the cheapest?
There is no clean top ten, and we would rather say so than invent one. Of the 43 prefectures with at least 20 priced homes, only three have a median asking price below 3 million yen. Eleven more sit at exactly 3,000,000 yen. A tie that large cannot honestly be turned into a numbered list.
The cheapest prefectures include the following. These are all the prefectures with a median of 3 million yen or less, and within the tied group they are ordered by the share of priced homes asking under 3 million yen. That ordering is our tie-breaker, not a ranking the data gives.
| Prefecture | Homes | With a price | Median asking price (yen) | Asking under 3 million |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaguchi | 195 | 165 | 2,000,000 | 92 (56%) |
| Hokkaido | 136 | 92 | 2,500,000 | 53 (58%) |
| Yamagata | 366 | 354 | 2,960,000 | 177 (50%) |
| Tokushima | 94 | 68 | 3,000,000 | 33 (49%) |
| Mie | 219 | 196 | 3,000,000 | 94 (48%) |
| Aomori | 157 | 143 | 3,000,000 | 68 (48%) |
| Nara | 157 | 123 | 3,000,000 | 58 (47%) |
| Akita | 345 | 304 | 3,000,000 | 141 (46%) |
| Kochi | 164 | 153 | 3,000,000 | 69 (45%) |
| Nagasaki | 81 | 67 | 3,000,000 | 30 (45%) |
| Oita | 108 | 54 | 3,000,000 | 24 (44%) |
| Niigata | 300 | 292 | 3,000,000 | 127 (43%) |
| Okayama | 285 | 215 | 3,000,000 | 93 (43%) |
| Shimane | 303 | 246 | 3,000,000 | 103 (42%) |
Wakayama, Gifu and Hiroshima come next, all at a median of 3,500,000 yen.
In plain terms: in Yamaguchi, half the priced homes on Engawa ask 2 million yen or less. Yamagata has the most homes of the cheapest three, with 366 listed.
A median is not a promise
Read the table with care.
- Sample size matters. Oita lists 108 homes but only 54 have a price, so its median rests on half the homes. Hokkaido has 92 priced homes. Compare that with Yamagata's 354.
- Some prefectures have very few homes. Saga (15 priced homes), Osaka (5) and Tokyo (1) have too few for a median to mean anything, so we leave them out of the comparison.
- Cheap asking prices come with condition. Check the hazard layers on each home, and read is it safe to buy an akiya before you fall for a price.
What does each price band buy?
A cheaper akiya is a little smaller and a little older, not dramatically so. These are medians, as of 8 October 2026. Age is 2026 minus the year built, so it is in calendar years, not to the month.
| Asking price | Homes | Median floor area | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 million yen | 624 | 111 sqm | 57 years (built 1969) |
| 1 million to under 3 million | 1,953 | 119 sqm | 54 years (built 1972) |
| 3 million to under 5 million | 1,756 | 120 sqm | 52 years (built 1974) |
| 5 million and over | 3,191 | 133 sqm | 46 years (built 1980) |
Not every home lists a floor area or a year built, so each median uses only the homes that do. A typical home under 1 million yen is about 111 sqm and 57 years old. From 5 million yen up it is about 133 sqm and 46 years old.
A home built before 1981 follows an older earthquake standard. That is common at every price, and it is worth understanding before you buy. We explain it in our guide to the 1981 standard and who checks a house.
The price is not the whole cost
The asking price is the smallest number in most budgets. Repairs, taxes and fees come on top. Read what akiya renovation really costs and are akiya really free before you set a limit. If you are buying from abroad, how to buy an akiya as a foreigner covers the steps. Legal and tax questions belong with a licensed professional or the official source, not with this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest prefecture for an akiya?
Yamaguchi has the lowest median asking price on Engawa, at 2,000,000 yen, as of 8 October 2026. Hokkaido and Yamagata follow. After that, eleven prefectures tie at 3,000,000 yen, so the order among them is not meaningful.
Can I find an akiya under 5 million yen?
Yes. As of 8 October 2026, 4,333 live homes ask under 5 million yen, and 624 ask under 1 million yen.
Do these prices show what people paid?
No. They are asking prices. Nothing we hold records final sale prices, and an asking price can move before a sale or never lead to one.
Do the numbers change?
Yes. Listings are refreshed every night, so the live counts move. Use the date on each figure.
Where to look next
Pick a prefecture from the table and browse its homes, or open Explore and filter by price. When a home fits your budget, use the "Enquire about this house" form on its page. In the prefectures where a listed agent works, your message reaches the agent and us together. Anywhere else, one of the founders replies and can put you in touch with a licensed agent. If you want a home near the slopes, akiya near ski areas explains where to look in snow country.