Houses for Sale in Kiryu, Gunma (2026): Prices, Flood Zones and Subsidies

The short answer

Kiryu is the deepest akiya-bank market in Gunma. Engawa's catalogue holds 113 Kiryu listings: 45 houses and 68 plots of land, all from the city's akiya bank and collected between 23 July and 6 October 2026. That is 43% of everything we list in Gunma. The median asking price of the 35 houses with a stated price is ¥5.4 million, and 16 of them ask ¥5 million or less. Plots are cheaper still: a median of ¥2.5 million for about 300 m².

Two things decide a Kiryu purchase more than price. First, where the house sits: 15 of the 17 listings nearest Kiryu Station are inside a designated flood zone, while only 1 of the 33 nearest Maruyama-shita Station is. Second, its age: 30 of the 44 houses with a known build year predate the June 1981 earthquake standard.

Kiryu by the numbers

Figures are from Engawa's catalogue, which draws on Kiryu's municipal akiya bank (published through At Home). They describe that stock, not the whole Kiryu market: commercial portals carry newer and pricier homes. Listings with no stated price (10 houses and 9 plots) are left out of every price figure.

113

Kiryu listings in our catalogue, the most of any town in Gunma (264 in the prefecture)

¥5.4m

Median asking price of the 35 Kiryu houses with a stated price; Gunma as a whole is ¥5.45m

16

Houses asking ¥5 million or less, and 7 asking ¥3 million or less

¥2.5m

Median asking price of 59 priced plots; the median price per m² is about ¥7,300

A typical Kiryu akiya-bank house is a family home, not a cottage: the median floor area is 99 m² on a 300 m² plot, and the median build year is 1976. Only one house was built in 2000 or later. Eight houses ask more than ¥10 million, so the bank is not only cheap stock.

Prices and flood risk by station area

Kiryu stretches from the flat river plain around the central stations up into hill valleys to the north. The table groups listings by their nearest station (straight-line distance from OpenStreetMap, so an estimate) and counts how many sit inside a designated flood zone on the national hazard maps. This is the table we could not find anywhere else, and it is the one to read before you shortlist.

Medians use only listings with a stated price. Across the city, 25 of 113 listings are in a designated flood zone: 3 with a modelled depth under 0.5 m, 17 at 0.5 to 3 m, and 5 at 3 to 5 m. Two of the five deepest are houses near Kiryu and Nishi-Kiryu stations asking ¥12 million and ¥19 million, so a high price is no sign of a safe site. Landslide designations follow the hills instead: 13 listings sit in a steep-slope or debris-flow warning zone.

Earthquake shaking risk is low everywhere in the city. Every Kiryu listing reads between 0.0% and 1.1% for the chance of shindo 6-lower or stronger shaking within 30 years on the J-SHIS model, with a median of 0.6%. Our guide to reading Japanese hazard maps explains how to check an address yourself before you make an offer.

The house is probably older than 1981

Japan's current earthquake standard for buildings applies to houses built from June 1981. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism notes that in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, wooden houses built before it suffered heavy damage. In Kiryu's akiya bank, 30 of the 44 houses with a known build year were built before 1981, 13 between 1981 and 1999, and one after.

That matters for three reasons:

• Renovation budget. A pre-1981 wooden house often needs a seismic assessment and possibly reinforcement before it is comfortable to live in. Our breakdown of the real cost of buying an akiya shows how renovation usually outweighs the purchase price.
• Subsidy routes. Kiryu's larger renovation grant for movers (two thirds of the cost, up to ¥1,000,000) requires the house to meet the earthquake standard, either because it was built to it or because the works bring it up to the required seismic score. For a pre-1981 house that means paying for reinforcement to qualify. Details are below.
• Permits. Whether a large renovation needs building confirmation changed in April 2025; our guide to akiya renovation and building confirmation explains when it applies.

The silk town district

Kiryu grew on silk weaving, and its old centre shows it. Kiryu Shinmachi, a 13.4 hectare district north of JR Kiryu Station, was selected by the national government as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings on 9 July 2012. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes main houses, earthen storehouses and sawtooth-roofed weaving factories built between the late Edo period and the early Showa era.

For a buyer, that means two things. Merchant houses and storehouses in and near the district are some of the most characterful buildings in Gunma, and the district profile records empty buildings being repaired and reopened as shops and workshops. But buildings in a preservation district come under its conservation plan, so ask the city before you plan any exterior work there. The district also lies on the river plain close to Kiryu Station, which is where the flood-zone count in the table above is highest.

Kiryu's subsidies for people who move there

Kiryu runs a set of grants under the name Kiryu Kurashi Ouen (support for living in Kiryu). They are built around living in Kiryu: the purchase grant and the mover grants are for people who move there and stay, not for overseas owners or holiday homes. The figures below come from the Gunma prefectural relocation guide for Kiryu, current as of April 2026, and the city's own pages.

Timing is the catch. The 2026 round of the renovation grants took applications from 20 April to 8 May 2026 and is closed, so a buyer today is planning for the 2027 round. Confirm the next window, and whether work may start before approval, with the city before you sign a builder.

A worked example

A couple moves to Kiryu and buys a ¥5,400,000 akiya-bank house, the median asking price in our data.

• Purchase grant: 3% of ¥5,400,000 is ¥162,000, plus ¥200,000 for buying through the akiya bank, so ¥362,000. That is below the cap of 10% of the price (¥540,000). Other add-ons, for example for children or younger households, can raise it.
• Renovation grant (if the house has been empty a year and the next round is open): on ¥1,500,000 of work, the base is ¥200,000 (30% capped), plus ¥400,000 for moving in from outside Kiryu, ¥200,000 for the akiya bank and ¥150,000 for a household of two: ¥950,000. The grant cannot exceed half the work (¥750,000) or ¥700,000, so it pays ¥700,000.

Together that is ¥1,062,000 back on ¥6,900,000 of purchase and works, before brokerage, taxes and registration. The closing cost calculator adds those. On a house at ¥8,000,000 or less, a broker may charge up to ¥330,000 including tax if agreed in advance; our guide to Japanese brokerage fees explains the cap.

How buying from the Kiryu akiya bank works

The city publishes the listings but does not broker them. Each listing names a local real estate agent, and that agent handles enquiries, viewings and the contract, so a brokerage fee is payable at contract on top of the price. If nothing listed fits, the city takes a written request with your conditions and asks the two property associations it works with for matches; that request service excludes business-use properties and companies.

1. 1

   Shortlist by station area.Use the table above to decide between the river plain near the central stations and the hill neighbourhoods, then filter listings on the Kiryu page.

2. 2

   Check the flood and landslide maps for the exact address.The station averages hide big differences street by street. Look up each address on the national hazard map portal.

3. 3

   Find the build year and ask about the earthquake standard.Before 1981 means budgeting for a seismic assessment and reinforcement, and decides which renovation grant can apply.

4. 4

   Contact the listing agent named on the bank.Ask whether the house is still available, what the fee will be, and what is included, such as furniture left inside.

5. 5

   Talk to the city before you sign anything.Confirm grant eligibility and the next application window, and whether the property sits in the preservation district.

If you would rather not do this in Japanese, our concierge service coordinates the purchase in English: a $25 first call, then $5,000 flat. It introduces a licensed local agent, who handles the contract and may charge their own brokerage fee under the legal cap. For other towns within reach of Tokyo, compare Kiryu with the rest of our list of cheap houses near Tokyo, or browse the whole Gunma prefecture page and every listing under ¥5 million.

Sources and review notes

Catalogue figures cover the Kiryu listings in Engawa's catalogue, collected from the city's akiya bank between 23 July and 6 October 2026; it is akiya-bank stock, not the whole market, and listings may have sold since. Listings without a stated price are excluded from medians, never counted as free. Nearest stations are straight-line estimates from OpenStreetMap. Hazard readings come from the national flood, landslide and J-SHIS datasets for each listing's coordinates and should be confirmed for the exact address. Grant amounts and conditions are quoted from official pages as they read on 23 October 2026; eligibility is decided by the city, and the next application window had not been announced.

• Gunma Prefecture: Kiryu City relocation and housing support list, as of April 2026 (Japanese, PDF)
• Kiryu City: vacant house renovation grants, 2026 round and amounts (Japanese)
• Kiryu City: akiya and vacant land bank, for buyers (Japanese)
• MLIT: brokerage fee rules for vacant and low-priced property, effective 1 July 2024 (Japanese, PDF)
• Agency for Cultural Affairs: Kiryu Shinmachi preservation district profile (Japanese, PDF)
• MLIT: earthquake damage and the need for seismic retrofits (Japanese)
• MLIT and GSI hazard map portal
• NIED J-SHIS seismic hazard map

Editorial ownerEngawa Editorial Team

MethodEngawa catalogue analysis of Kiryu akiya-bank listings, the Gunma prefectural relocation guide for Kiryu, Kiryu City pages on the akiya bank and renovation grants, the Agency for Cultural Affairs district profile, and MLIT guidance on the 1981 earthquake standard and brokerage fees

Checked on23 October 2026

This article is general information, not personalized legal, tax, structural, financing, visa, or investment advice. Property and service availability can change.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a house cost in Kiryu, Gunma?+

In Engawa's catalogue of Kiryu akiya-bank listings, collected between 23 July and 6 October 2026, the median asking price of the 35 houses with a stated price was ¥5.4 million. Sixteen asked ¥5 million or less, seven asked ¥3 million or less, and eight asked more than ¥10 million.

Can you buy land in Kiryu cheaply?+

Yes. The 59 Kiryu plots with a stated price in our catalogue had a median asking price of ¥2.5 million for a median of about 300 m², and 17 asked ¥1 million or less. Of the four station areas with the most listings, plots near Nishi-Kiryu and Maruyama-shita were the cheapest, at medians of ¥1.6 million and ¥2.0 million.

Which parts of Kiryu are in flood zones?+

The river plain around the central stations. Of the 17 listings whose nearest station is Kiryu Station, 15 sit inside a designated flood zone on the national hazard maps, against 1 of the 33 nearest Maruyama-shita Station in the hills. Check every exact address on the hazard map portal before making an offer.

Does Kiryu give subsidies to people who buy a house there?+

Yes, to people who move there. The home purchase grant pays 3% of the price (up to ¥300,000) plus add-ons, including ¥200,000 for buying through the akiya bank, capped at 10% of the price or ¥2,000,000. You must buy within two years of moving to Kiryu and stay at least five years.

Can I get a renovation grant for a Kiryu akiya?+

The city pays half the cost of renovating a house empty for a year or more, up to ¥700,000, and movers can get two thirds up to ¥1,000,000 for a house that meets the earthquake standard or is reinforced to meet it. The 2026 round ran from 20 April to 8 May 2026 and is closed, so plan for the next round.

How old are the houses in the Kiryu akiya bank?+

Mostly older than 1981. Of the 44 Kiryu houses in our catalogue with a known build year, 30 were built before 1981, 13 between 1981 and 1999, and one after that. The median build year is 1976, so budget for a seismic assessment and possibly reinforcement.

Can foreigners buy a house from the Kiryu akiya bank?+

The city's buyer page sets no nationality rule: it publishes listings, and the local real estate agent named on each listing handles the sale, with a brokerage fee payable at contract. The relocation grants, however, are for people who move to Kiryu and live in the home, so overseas owners cannot count on them.

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