Kutchan Town’s Staff Housing Market Heats Up

Kutchan Town’s real estate market is booming as Greater Niseko Area resort-based companies snatch up properties to accommodate their staffs.

Looking to Kutchan Town for staff housing isn’t a new phenomenon, as in the years before Covid as Niseko grew into an international resort, it became increasingly expensive to accommodate staff in the resort areas.

But according to Niseko Property Real Estate Sales Consultant Frank Ferretti, the sales volume ahead of and during this season is unprecedented.

Ferretti estimates that the current transaction rate for staff housing, beginning in the late summer and continuing now, is about twice what it was in the years directly before the pandemic.

The sales are sometimes for land, to establish new apartment blocks on, but are often for existing stand-alone houses that can be quickly retrofitted to accommodate several staff members.

The beginnings of the staff housing crunch

Investments in Kutchan Town-proper staff accommodations accelerated over the roughly ten years before the Covid pandemic as Niseko’s resorts saw growing numbers of international guests.

An exacerbating factor during this time was that much of the affordable housing where staff used to seasonally stay, like old pensions in Hirafu, was being sold and knocked down to make way for higher-end developments.

Covid pause to a rapid return

With the onset of the Covid pandemic, much of the new staff housing was rendered empty or mostly empty till borders reopened just ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Ferretti said that once the borders normalised, the staff housing in Kutchan immediately filled up again, precipitating another shortage.

“And now we see another big boom and rush for staff housing,” said Ferretti.

Who is purchasing where?

Ferretti said that post Covid the purchasers have been more foreigners than Japanese, many being resort-based companies that are directly acquiring houses for staff accommodation.

The companies investing aren’t just the large hotels and include small retail operations that may need accommodations for just four or five staff members over the winter season.

While providing housing to seasonal staff is usually part of a compensation package, the liability of these investments not being used outside of the winter season is partially being assuaged by having them available to house construction workers employed during the warmer months and, increasingly, green season staff such as mountain biking and rafting guides.

The most desirable areas for staff housing are within walking distance of the centre part of Kutchan, near the station and shopping options, said Ferretti.

A late start for 2023 sales

Ferretti said that judging from Niseko Property’s transactions, many companies waited until the late summer of 2023 to begin acquiring staff housing, despite the shortage during the 2022/23 winter season.

“A lot of properties that weren’t selling for a couple years all of sudden got picked up.” said Ferretti.

Images:
Kutchan Property images courtesy of Niseko Property*
Kutchan Town From Asahigaoka by Rockfender

*Sale details, if applicable, are private and the display of an image here does not necessarily mean the property is being used for resort staff accommodation.

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