Japan housing starts in 2019 decreased by 7.3% when compared to the previous fiscal year.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MLIT), housing starts – new residential construction projects – in 2019 decreased by 7.3% to 883,787 houses. This comes after a year-on-year increase in the previous year.
Sorting by the usage of properties, housing starts of houses owned by the occupant (Owned Houses) decreased by 1.5% to 283,338 houses, homes built for the purpose of leasing out (Rented Houses) decreased by 14.2% to 334,509 houses, and Built-for-sale Houses decreased 2.8% to 259,732 houses when compared to the previous year. Among built-for-sale houses, apartment/condominiums decreased by 6.7% to 111,615 units – which continues the downward trend across 2 straight years. One bright spot was detached houses, which increased by 0.9% to 146,154 houses – the 5th consecutive year of increase.
Sorting by the area, housing starts decreased by 8.2% in the Tokyo metropolitan area, by 4.7% in the Chubu area, by 6.5% in the Kinki area, and by 7.5% in other areas.
Source: Suumo news published as of May 8, 2020 (https://suumo.jp/journal/2020/05/08/172489/)
Author: Ryuta Hojo
Ryuta Hojo is in the Sales Division at Housing Japan. He speaks Japanese, English and Chinese and helps our clients to acquire an ideal home in Japan. He researches market trends and news thoroughly to be able to provide the most salient information and give the right advice acting on the buyer’s side.
