TOKYO (MNI) – Housing starts in Japan fell 9.3% in February from a
year earlier to 56,527 units, posting the 15th straight y/y drop, the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said on
Wednesday.
The pace of decline accelerated from -8.1% in January but it was
slower than double-digit decreases seen throughout 2009 that ranged from
-15.7% y/y to -38.3%.
The latest figure came in much weaker than the consensus call of a
0.7% drop.
The biggest drop on record was -44.0% marked in September 2007.
In July 2008, housing starts posted their first year-on-year gain
in 13 months (+19.0%), followed by sharp gains of 53.6% in August and
54.2% in September. But amid the global recession, they slowed quickly
to be unchanged in November and then dropped 5.8% in December 2008.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts stood at
794,000 units in February, down from 863,000 units in January.
The breakdown follows (on-year changes in the previous month in
parentheses):
— Owner-occupied houses +2.9% at 20,867 units (vs. +5.4%), posting
the fourth consecutive month of y/y gains.
— Houses for rent -8.4% at 21,671 units (vs. -14.5%), down for the
15th straight month.
— Condominiums and houses for sale -25.6% at 13,069 units (vs.
-11.7%), also down for the 15th straight month.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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