Header image: AI-generated illustration, not a property listing.
LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank vs Buy Houses Japan (2026)
LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank (LIFULL HOME'S 空き家バンク) is one of Japan's two national akiya bank websites. It gathers the vacant houses that participating municipalities register, for sale and for rent, on one free Japanese-language site. On 6 October 2026 it showed 8,762 listings from 788 participating municipalities. Source: LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank.
Use LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank if you want municipal vacant houses and the support a town offers people who move there. Use Buy Houses Japan if you want to search detached houses from ordinary property listings in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese or Japanese. Many buyers will want both.
Published by Buy Houses Japan, one of the services compared. Checked on 6 October 2026 against the public pages linked below. This compares published information with our own product; it is not an independent review.
Browse houses for sale in Japan without an account.
What is LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank?
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) supports a national akiya and vacant land bank, so that people can search vacant houses across municipalities in one place. Two companies run it, each on its own website: LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank and At Home's akiya bank. MLIT says it subsidized part of the build cost but does not commission the operation, and the two companies run their sites independently. Source: MLIT.
Two things follow for buyers:
- It does not show every municipal akiya bank listing. Only participating municipalities appear, and an owner must agree to the national listing. A house on a town's own akiya bank page can be missing from the national site.
- It mixes sale, rent, business premises and land. Filter for houses for sale before you compare prices.
The site also collects municipal support, such as relocation programs and purchase or renovation subsidies, and themed searches such as houses with farmland. Check the town's own page for current conditions.
How buying through an akiya bank works
An akiya bank matches owners and buyers; it is not an agent. The national site needs no registration, but the municipality may require it, and who can register differs from town to town. MLIT notes that some municipalities limit use, for example to people moving in from elsewhere.
Negotiation and the contract usually happen through a real estate agent or directly with the owner. Nishinomiya City, for example, says that agents handle inquiries about its listings and that the city cannot be involved in negotiations, contracts or disputes. Source: Nishinomiya City.
Expect to write to the town office in Japanese, and plan the same checks as for any house: road access, rebuilding rules, repairs and an inspection.
How Buy Houses Japan is different
- Property portal listings, not akiya bank listings. We search detached houses for sale from supported Japanese property portals. We do not include municipal akiya bank listings, and we are not a complete catalog of every house in Japan.
- Checked availability. On 6 October 2026 our public pages covered 24,442 detached houses with photos and a yen price whose source page passed our check within the previous 14 days, and 3,280 of them were listed under ¥5 million. See how we check listings and house prices by prefecture.
- Your language. Pages and search work in English, Spanish, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Japanese. You can describe what you want in a sentence, such as "a detached house in Wakayama under ¥10 million with parking".
- Not a brokerage. Each house links to its original listing. Viewings, negotiation and the contract happen with the listing agent.
Side by side
| LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank | Buy Houses Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it lists | Municipal akiya bank properties: houses, business premises and land, for sale and rent | Detached houses for sale from property portals |
| Size on 6 October 2026 | 8,762 listings from 788 municipalities | 24,442 houses with a recent availability check |
| Language | Japanese | English, Spanish, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Japanese |
| Cost to use | Free | Free browsing; an account for search; paid plans for alerts and comparison |
| Who you contact | The municipality, or the agent it names | The agent on the original listing |
| Best for | Moving to a specific town and using its support | Comparing houses across regions and budgets |
Which should you try first?
- You have chosen a town and want to live there: start with that town's akiya bank and LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank, and ask the town office about registration and support.
- You are still choosing a region or budget: start with houses for sale across Japan or houses under ¥10 million, then look at the same area on the akiya bank.
- You want the cheapest house you can find: search both, then compare the total cost rather than the price. Read the total cost of a cheap house in Japan.
Questions about LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank
Is LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank in English?
We did not find an English version on 6 October 2026. Listings, inquiries and municipal pages are in Japanese.
Can foreigners use an akiya bank?
It depends on the municipality. The national site needs no registration, but a town may ask you to register and may limit who can use its akiya bank. Ask the town office before you plan a visit.
Is LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank the same as At Home's akiya bank?
No. They are the two national akiya bank websites, run independently by LIFULL and At Home, so search both.
Start with houses you can open today
Open a house, check its photos, location and price, then follow the original listing. Browse houses for sale in Japan or see akiya and older houses.
Details of other services can change after the review date.