Megumi Takezawa knows exactly what she wants: a three-bedroom apartment of at least 70 square meters, built to withstand earthquakes, in a safe neighborhood within commuting distance of central Tokyo ¡ª and priced somewhere between ?60 million and ?70 million ($400,000 to $467,000).
That may have been realistic a decade ago, but not today. In Bunkyo Ward, where Takezawa lives, even outdated units of that size ¡ª ones that don¡¯t meet modern earthquake standards ¡ª now start at nearly ?90 million, well beyond what she and her husband can afford. For the 43-year-old office worker and mother of a young child, the search for a new family home is in limbo.
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