Newly Released: Real Estate Purchasing Decision Tool Based on Ground Risk
Mycat Inc. released a 'Correlation Map' for its 'Jiban Checker' service, mapping ground strength against land prices to help homebuyers estimate hidden ground improvement costs before purchase.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 3, 2026 at 01:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 19:36
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 06:38 (443h 2m after Collected)
Mycat Inc. has launched a "Correlation Map" for its ground risk diagnosis service, "Jiban Checker" (https://jiban.xyz), which visualizes the correlation between ground strength data and official land prices by area. Tool URL: https://jiban.xyz/tools/ground-value-map
### The variable of "ground" is missing in home purchasing decisions
When considering buying a house, everyone checks location, floor plan, price, and age. However, not many people check in advance whether the ground of the land has sufficient strength to support a building. If the ground survey determines that it is soft ground, ground improvement work is required. Depending on the construction method, for a typical detached house, costs range from 300,000 to 500,000 yen for surface improvement, 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen for columnar improvement, and 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 yen for steel pipe piles (Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Residential Land Disaster Prevention Manual). These costs are usually not included in the land purchase price and are additional costs incurred after purchase. According to the MLIT's Official Land Prices (2024), there are significant differences in land prices even within the same municipality, and ground conditions are cited as one of the reasons for this difference. Areas with soft ground tend to have relatively lower land prices, but when ground improvement costs are added, there are cases where the total cost is ultimately the same as properties in adjacent areas with good ground.
### How the Correlation Map Works
The Correlation Map is a tool that overlays ground N-values (an indicator of ground hardness) and MLIT's official land price data on the same map.
**Information displayed on the map**
Ground strength layer: Displays ground N-values color-coded. Warm colors (red to orange) indicate soft ground, and cool colors (blue to green) indicate good ground. The N-value is a value that affects the foundation design of a building based on standards set by the Japanese Geotechnical Society (Source: Japanese Geotechnical Society, Ground Investigation Methods and Explanations).
Land price layer: Plots MLIT's official land price points on the map and displays the land price per square meter numerically.
**Area Analysis Report**
Automatically generates the following analysis for the currently displayed area:
- Correlation coefficient between ground strength and land price
- Comparison of ground conditions with surrounding areas
- Probability of requiring ground improvement (estimate based on N-value and building size)
- Substantial land acquisition cost when adding ground improvement costs
### Relationship between Ground and Asset Value
The quality of the ground has a long-term impact on the asset value of a house. First, the deterioration speed of the building changes. Buildings on soft ground face the risk of uneven settlement (where the building tilts rather than settling evenly), causing building distortion, poor door operation, and cracked exterior walls. A report by the Architectural Institute of Japan shows a high correlation between building damage from uneven settlement and ground conditions. Second, it affects the appraisal value at the time of future sale. In the trading of used homes, the presence or absence of a ground investigation report makes a difference in the buyer's peace of mind. By utilizing data from the correlation map, information such as "this land has good ground conditions" can be presented as added value during a sale.
### Use Case 1: Understanding hidden costs before land purchase
If you find an interesting property on a real estate portal site, check its address on the correlation map. If it is an area with soft ground, you can calculate the total cost by adding the displayed estimated ground improvement cost to your purchase budget. Even if you think "this land is cheap," if ground improvement costs 1 million yen, the adjacent plot with good ground might ultimately be cheaper. The correlation map visualizes these "hidden costs" before purchase.
### Use Case 2: Trial calculation of mortgage including ground risk
When deciding on a mortgage amount, whether to include ground improvement costs along with land and building costs is a crucial decision. If ground improvement costs are necessary, the overall construction cost increases, affecting the mortgage repayment plan. By grasping the possibility of ground improvement in advance with the correlation map, preliminary consultations with financial institutions and request for quotes from builders can proceed smoothly.
### Use Case 3: Reference material for municipal urban planning and disaster prevention
For municipal urban planning departments, data visualizing the relationship between ground conditions and land prices on a map serves as basic material applicable to judgments on development permissions and the formulation of disaster prevention plans. It helps identify areas with high liquefaction risk and aids in studying priority areas for disaster prevention infrastructure...
### The variable of "ground" is missing in home purchasing decisions
When considering buying a house, everyone checks location, floor plan, price, and age. However, not many people check in advance whether the ground of the land has sufficient strength to support a building. If the ground survey determines that it is soft ground, ground improvement work is required. Depending on the construction method, for a typical detached house, costs range from 300,000 to 500,000 yen for surface improvement, 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen for columnar improvement, and 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 yen for steel pipe piles (Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Residential Land Disaster Prevention Manual). These costs are usually not included in the land purchase price and are additional costs incurred after purchase. According to the MLIT's Official Land Prices (2024), there are significant differences in land prices even within the same municipality, and ground conditions are cited as one of the reasons for this difference. Areas with soft ground tend to have relatively lower land prices, but when ground improvement costs are added, there are cases where the total cost is ultimately the same as properties in adjacent areas with good ground.
### How the Correlation Map Works
The Correlation Map is a tool that overlays ground N-values (an indicator of ground hardness) and MLIT's official land price data on the same map.
**Information displayed on the map**
Ground strength layer: Displays ground N-values color-coded. Warm colors (red to orange) indicate soft ground, and cool colors (blue to green) indicate good ground. The N-value is a value that affects the foundation design of a building based on standards set by the Japanese Geotechnical Society (Source: Japanese Geotechnical Society, Ground Investigation Methods and Explanations).
Land price layer: Plots MLIT's official land price points on the map and displays the land price per square meter numerically.
**Area Analysis Report**
Automatically generates the following analysis for the currently displayed area:
- Correlation coefficient between ground strength and land price
- Comparison of ground conditions with surrounding areas
- Probability of requiring ground improvement (estimate based on N-value and building size)
- Substantial land acquisition cost when adding ground improvement costs
### Relationship between Ground and Asset Value
The quality of the ground has a long-term impact on the asset value of a house. First, the deterioration speed of the building changes. Buildings on soft ground face the risk of uneven settlement (where the building tilts rather than settling evenly), causing building distortion, poor door operation, and cracked exterior walls. A report by the Architectural Institute of Japan shows a high correlation between building damage from uneven settlement and ground conditions. Second, it affects the appraisal value at the time of future sale. In the trading of used homes, the presence or absence of a ground investigation report makes a difference in the buyer's peace of mind. By utilizing data from the correlation map, information such as "this land has good ground conditions" can be presented as added value during a sale.
### Use Case 1: Understanding hidden costs before land purchase
If you find an interesting property on a real estate portal site, check its address on the correlation map. If it is an area with soft ground, you can calculate the total cost by adding the displayed estimated ground improvement cost to your purchase budget. Even if you think "this land is cheap," if ground improvement costs 1 million yen, the adjacent plot with good ground might ultimately be cheaper. The correlation map visualizes these "hidden costs" before purchase.
### Use Case 2: Trial calculation of mortgage including ground risk
When deciding on a mortgage amount, whether to include ground improvement costs along with land and building costs is a crucial decision. If ground improvement costs are necessary, the overall construction cost increases, affecting the mortgage repayment plan. By grasping the possibility of ground improvement in advance with the correlation map, preliminary consultations with financial institutions and request for quotes from builders can proceed smoothly.
### Use Case 3: Reference material for municipal urban planning and disaster prevention
For municipal urban planning departments, data visualizing the relationship between ground conditions and land prices on a map serves as basic material applicable to judgments on development permissions and the formulation of disaster prevention plans. It helps identify areas with high liquefaction risk and aids in studying priority areas for disaster prevention infrastructure...