Japanese town of Yuni selling land for $1.51 per square metre

The town is trying to keep its population from dwindling and it appears to be working

Real estate prices in Canada may have just started to come down, but if you are looking for a really good deal, go to Japan.

Yuni, a town of about 5,900 people, is selling plots of land for $1.51 per square metre (11 square feet), according to The Japan Daily Press. The price of 120 Yen is to celebrate the town's 120th anniversary.

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The town, in the middle of the northern island of Hokkaido, is offering the deal to try and boost its dwindling population. If you are thinking the price of land is so low because of location, the going rate for a square metre in the town now is the equivalent of about $77, so $1.50 is still a huge discount. Of course it's well below the $272,000 one will pay per square metre of earth in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district.

"We aim to help people from outside settle in our town, stop the population decline and help the town revitalize itself," reads the city's website.

Each year the town loses about 100 residents, but this promotion is getting people interested. The town has already received 170 applications and has decided to have a lottery to draw for who will get to purchase the land. They plan to sell eight 330 square metre plots.

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But it comes with a few catches. People purchasing the land must be Japanese or hold a permanent resident visa and must build a house on the land and live in it for at least three years.

To compare, the average price per square metre in the downtown Toronto area is more than $7,000 and just under that in downtown Vancouver, according to Numbeo.com.