31.10.202505:12:12UTC+00Japan Housing Starts Fall Less than Estimated

In September 2025, Japan experienced a 7.3% year-on-year decline in housing starts, which fell short of the market's expectation of a 7.9% decrease. This decrease, however, was less severe than the 9.8% drop observed in the prior month. Notably, this period marks the sixth consecutive month of decline, albeit the most moderate in the series. The decline in new dwelling starts was less pronounced for owned homes, which decreased by 5.6% compared to a 10.6% contraction in August, and for prefabricated housing, which saw a modest decrease of 0.4% against a 13.3% drop previously. On the other hand, new construction starts continued to struggle in the rental sector, which experienced an 8.2% drop compared to an 8.1% decline, and in the built-for-sale segment, which decreased by 8.3% relative to an 8.2% decrease. Contrarily, there was a positive turnaround in housing starts for issued units, which surged by 53.7% following a 67.5% decrease, and two-by-four homes, which witnessed a 2.1% uptick compared to a prior decline of 6.3%.