[GoNative]

The other thing I suppose that factors into the money people put into a house and things like insulation is that housing here is no longer really considered an investment. Since the bubble burst all those years ago and as a result of a declining population houses on the whole only depreciate in value. So this will often mean people will try and do everything as cheap as possible as there's little reason spending up big on something you'll never get your money back on in the future.

The ski area I work at is actually one of the few places in all of Japan that has seen some pretty good growth in the housing and land market over the last decade. When I first came here you could get land in the village for as little as Y50,000 per tsubo. Now you would struggle to find any land under Y250,000 per tsubo. Some land in parts of the upper village is going for over Y700,000 per tsubo. Many houses have been built here in recent years worth over $1 million dollars. The penthouse in one of the properties I'm involved in sold for over $3 million. Wasn't that long ago you could have bought whole parts of the ski resort for that sort of money. Pretty much all of this growth has been driven by foreign investment though.