Chitose: real estate guide

If you have inherited a vacant house (akiya) in Chitose, or left your house empty because of a job transfer, you have four options: sell it, rent it out, demolish it and keep the land, or keep it while managing it. Chitose City does not offer a demolition subsidy for vacant houses, but you can use a free advice line, the Hokkaido Vacant House Information Bank, and the ¥30 million special deduction for inherited vacant houses. In this article, we organize the steps and requirements based on official city information, and explain which option suits you in the Chitose market, from the viewpoint of a local real estate company.

First, the Chitose market

Chitose has strong housing demand because of New Chitose Airport, the Self-Defense Forces and a next-generation semiconductor factory. In the 2026 official land price survey, the average change across 19 residential sites in the city was +6.77%. Sakaemachi 2-chome, near the station, was ¥112,000 per m² (+19.1%), 2.5 times the 2021 level (¥44,000). Midorimachi 3-chome was ¥71,000 (+14.5%) and Sumiyoshi 4-chome ¥50,000 (+11.1%).

In other words, in Chitose a vacant house often has value as land even if the building is old. Unlike Tomakomai or Shiraoi, we recommend first getting a valuation for a normal sale before letting it go cheaply through the vacant house bank.

Source: MLIT official land prices (2026). The Koyodai and Hakuyo areas, far from the station, are rising more slowly, but even there prices have risen more than 1.5 times in five years.

Option 1: Sell (normal brokerage)

This is the most common conclusion in Chitose. The steps are as follows.

1. Ask a real estate company for a free valuation (you can start with a “desk valuation”, an estimate made without visiting the site)
2. If the inheritance registration has not been done, ask a judicial scrivener (shiho-shoshi) to do it (inheritance registration has been mandatory since April 2024)
3. Sign a brokerage contract and start marketing
4. When a buyer is found, sign the sales contract, receive the balance and hand over the property
5. File a tax return the following year (required if you use a special tax rule)

In Chitose, buyers often come from outside the city (people transferred from Sapporo, Tomakomai or mainland Japan), and the selling period is usually about three months. An old house can be sold as “land with an old house” or demolished and sold as vacant land. You decide by comparing the demolition cost (about ¥1.5 million to ¥2.5 million for a 30-tsubo (about 99 m²) wooden house) with how much the price can be raised.

Option 2: Rent out

Renting is suitable if you plan to come back in a few years, for example after a job transfer. In Chitose there is demand for detached rental houses from people transferred for the Self-Defense Forces or airport-related work. However, renting requires minimum repairs (water heater, kitchen and bathroom, roof), and note that it is harder to sell while a tenant lives there.

Option 3: Register with the Hokkaido Vacant House Information Bank

Chitose City does not have its own vacant house bank and refers people to the “Hokkaido Vacant House Information Bank” run by Hokkaido. The owner applies for registration, Hokkaido makes a provisional registration, inspects the site and publishes the listing, and then receives applications from interested people. Registration is free. When a deal is closed, a fee is paid to the licensed real estate broker who handles the brokerage.

The bank is for properties where you want to “find someone who will use it, even at a low price”. In the Chitose town area, normal brokerage often sells faster and at a higher price, so think of the bank as an option for suburban properties or buildings in poor condition.

Option 4: Demolish and keep the land

Chitose has no demolition subsidy for vacant houses (as of October 2026). You pay the demolition cost yourself, but the city’s “Vacant House Portal Site” has a demolition cost simulator and a land sale valuation guide that give you a rough estimate. If you clear the land, you lose the residential land special rule for property tax (kotei shisanzei) (up to one-sixth), and the tax goes up. So, as a rule, demolish only after you have decided when to sell.

If you inherited a vacant house, check the ¥30 million special deduction

If you inherit your parent’s house built on or before May 31, 1981, and sell it by the end of the third year after the inheritance, there is a special rule that lets you deduct up to ¥30 million from the capital gain. The main requirements are: the sale price is ¥100 million or less; the property was not used for business, rental or living from the inheritance until the sale; and at the time of sale the building meets earthquake-resistance standards or has been demolished (from 2024, it is also acceptable if the buyer does this by February 15 of the following year).

To apply, you need a “Confirmation of the Deceased’s Residential House” (hisozokunin kyojuyo kaoku-to kakuninsho) issued by Chitose City. You apply with the deceased’s removed resident record, the heir’s resident record, a copy of the sales contract, and documents showing the house was vacant (such as certificates that electricity and water were shut off). If you check before selling whether you meet the requirements, you will not get the timing of demolition wrong.

Risks of leaving a vacant house unattended

The December 2023 amendment to the Act on Special Measures concerning Vacant Houses created a category of “poorly managed vacant houses”, and the city can now give guidance and recommendations. If you receive a recommendation, you lose the residential land special rule for property tax. Chitose City’s vacant house plan also lists the increase in vacant houses that are hard to manage because owners are aging and properties are inherited. In snowy Chitose, a vacant house whose roof snow is not cleared deteriorates within one or two winters.

Where to get advice on vacant houses in Chitose

Which option suits you

• Vacant house in the town area (within 3 km of a station): Sell through normal brokerage. Get a valuation with the old house as it is, and decide whether to demolish based on market prices
• You plan to come back in a few years: Repair it and rent it out
• Suburban, or the building is badly damaged: Hokkaido Vacant House Information Bank, or sell as land
• An old family home you inherited: Check the requirements of the ¥30 million special deduction first, and sell within the deadline

We are headquartered in Tomakomai and also handle sales brokerage in the Chitose and Eniwa area. For a vacant house in Chitose, knowing its current price is the starting point for any decision. We accept free valuation requests with three items: the property type, the location and your contact details.

This page was machine-translated. The Japanese original prevails.