Want a fixer-upper in Japan? You could nab one of millions of country houses for sale for just $25,000.

• Japan has a glut of abandoned homes in rural areas and small towns. 
• Government officials are auctioning them off for as little as $500. 
• Americans are getting in on the deal. 

With home prices and rents increasingly unaffordable in the US, some Americans are looking for their dream homes abroad. In Japan, a growing portion of the country's housing stock is unoccupied and increasingly attracting American buyers.