Japan’s housing starts in June were 85,953 units (down – 2.5 per cent from the same month in the previous year), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, said the Japan Lumber Journal Friday.
Although figure was below previous year’s for the first time in six months, when compared to the previous month, the figure increased by + 9.2 per cent. The seasonally-adjusted annual rate was 1,004,000 units (down – 1.3 per cent from the previous month), remaining above 1,000,000 units for two consecutive months.
Japan Housing Starts: July 2016
Housing starts of owner-occupied houses in Japan were 26,944 units (up + 1.1 per cent from the same month of the previous year), increasing for five months in a row. Those of built-for-sale houses were 21,617 units (down – 15.2 per cent) said the Japan Lumber Journal Friday. This is because those of con- dominiums decreased to 10,185 units (down – 28.1 per cent), but those of single-family houses were 11,279 units (up + 1.1 per cent).
Starts of prefabricated houses were 13,328 units (up + 2.4 per cent), while those of two-by-four houses were 10,529 units (down – 1.8 per cent).
Housing starts of wooden houses were 47,502 units (up + 2.9 per cent). The ratio of wooden houses by the number of units was 55.3 per cent, increasing by 1 point from the previous month.
Total housing starts for the first half of 2016 (January – June) were 463,469 units (up + 5.2 per cent from the same period of the previous year).