The purpose of this study is to investigate the present condition of resident's obtaining housing information and resident's awareness of the housing situation, and to make clear the current ploblems of offering housing information. A questionnaire investigation was carried out on 951 persons living in Tokyo, in 2002.
As a result, the following conclusions were obtained: 1. The respondents require information about the condition of the residential property. 2. The respondents require the offered information from an expert, an administrative body, or a Non-Profit Organization. 3. 25% of the respondents feel uneasy about having no idea where information should be received. Furthermore 50% feel uneasy about the reliability of the source of information, expertise of planning and construction, and cost. 4. The respondents have no confidence in housing acquisition, even if satisfied with their houses and having obtained housing information.
In future, it is more important to concentrate on the part of experts and Non-Profit Organizations, and the explanation to residents by experts to improve the current situation.

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The year 2003 experiences the two tax revisions related to housing investment. This paper examines the recent situations of family transfer and its effect on housing investment in Greater Tokyo. We analyzed the 1998 microdata to quantify the effect on new housing starts and composition of housing fund. We found that an increase in the probability of receiving transfer led to the greater housing investment, but it did not affect the decision of housing investment. Unlike in the United States, we also found the tradeoff between family transfer and borrowings in housing purchase. The 10000-yen increase in transfer decreased the borrowings by 2100 yen, so that the total housing investment increased by 7900 yen.

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[in Japanese]

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