–Japan Oct Housing Starts -5.8% Y/Y; MNI Median: -6.3%
TOKYO (MNI) – Housing starts in Japan slumped 5.8% in October to
67,273 units, posting a second straight fall, as demand waned after the
government ended its subsidies for building energy-saving homes in July,
data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
showed Wednesday.
The October figure was slightly better than the median economist
forecast for a 6.3% fall in a Market News International survey. It
followed a 10.8% drop in September and 14.0% rise in August.
The government has revived its temporary reward program for buying
energy-saving houses but economists have said it did not have a full
impact on October housing starts as yet.
Reward points will be given to owners of greener homes under
construction or those being renovated to save energy consumption,
effective only from Oct. 21. The program will end on Oct. 31, 2012.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts stood at
774,000 units in October, up from 745,000 units in September.
The breakdown follows (year-on-year changes in the previous month
in parentheses):
— Owner-occupied houses -8.1% y/y at 25,581 units, a second
straight fall.
— Houses for rent -8.9% y/y at 22,904 units, a second straight
fall.
— Condominiums and houses for sale +3.1% at 18,446 units, the
first rise in two months.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
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