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 — 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 In Bunkyo Ward, where Takezawa lives, even outdated units of that size — ones that don’t meet modern earthquake standards — now start at nearly ¥90 million, well beyond what she and her husband can afford.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.