— Japan Jan Housing Starts -1.1% Y/Y; MNI Fcast -3.5%
TOKYO (MNI) – Housing starts in Japan dipped 1.1% on the year to
65,984 units, posting a fifth straight fall, but the pace of decline
decelerated from -7.3% in December, data from the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Wednesday.
The January figure also came in better than the median economist
forecast for a 3.5% fall in a Market News International survey.
The government has revived its temporary reward program for buying
energy-saving houses while the government-affiliated Japan Housing
Finance Agency has resumed offering low rates on long-term loans for
home buyers.
Reward points will be given to owners of greener homes under
construction or those being renovated to save energy consumption,
effective from Oct. 21, 2011. The program will end on Oct. 31, 2012.
As a result, the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing
starts stood at 822,000 units in January, up from 783,000 units in
December.
The breakdown follows (year-on-year changes in the previous month
in parentheses):
— Owner-occupied houses: -2.7% y/y at 21,687 units, a fifth
straight fall.
— Houses for rent: +1.1% y/y at 24,256 units, the first rise in
five months.
— Condominiums and houses for sale: -0.5% at 19,813 units, a
second straight fall.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
