After dropping since April due to a new consumption tax, housing starts in Japan increased in June by 11.8 per cent compared to May, to 75,727 units, according to Japan Lumber Reporter Friday. Seasonally adjusted starts were 883,000 units.
June starts were down 9.5 per cent compared to the same month one year ago.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport commented in the data release that, compared to the same period in 2012, starts were increasing.
Japan Housing Starts
The number of new units built for owners increased by 11.5 per cent compared to May, but were still below 30,000 each month since the start of this year, said hte Japan Lumber Reports.
The rate of units built for sale experienced similar changes, but new building of rental units continued active.