Analysis of factors affecting the occurrence of vacant houses according to vacant house classification: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

This study aimed to analyze factors affecting the occurrence of vacant houses according to vacant house clas-sification across regions of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The analysis considered urban scales, metropolitan areas, and weather data to determine the characteristics of variables that generate vacant houses. The findings showed that housing vacancy rates could be more accurately determined by dividing urban scales into big cities, medium-sized cities, small cities, and towns/villages, rather than merely metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The number of variables affecting the occurrence of vacant houses increased in regions with a high housing vacancy rate and differed according to regional characteristics. The predictive factors for the occurrence of vacant houses in Shizuoka Prefecture were greatly influenced by population, society, and industry. Shizuoka Prefecture needs social policies to stimulate the influx of young people to mitigate the occurrence of vacant houses. Meanwhile, the weather data on daylight hours, number of days with precipitation, and number of days with strong wind showed a correlation with the vacancy rate. Thus, weather data must be considered in urban planning. Our findings can be used for policy making regarding management of housing vacancy rate, urban renewal, and new town planning.