Japan Dec Housing Starts -7.3%, 4th Drop; But +2.6% In 2011

— Japan Dec Housing Starts -7.3% Y/Y; MNI Fcast -1.8%
— Japan Dec Housing Starts Post 4th Y/Y Fall in Row

TOKYO (MNI) – Housing starts in Japan slumped 7.3% in December to
69,069 units, posting a fourth 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 Tuesday.

The December figure came in much weaker than the median economist
forecast for a 1.8% fall in a Market News International survey.

It followed declines of 0.3% in November, 5.8% in October and 10.8%
in September.

But for the whole of 2011, housing starts rose 2.6% to 834,117
units, the second straight annual rise.

The government has revived its temporary reward program for buying
energy-saving houses but it is not having a full impact on housing
starts.

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.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts stood at
783,000 units in December, down from 824,000 units in November.

The breakdown follows (year-on-year changes in the previous month
in parentheses):

— Owner-occupied houses -8.8% y/y at 24,496 units, a fourth
straight fall.

— Houses for rent -9.0% y/y at 24,680 units, a fourth straight
fall.

— Condominiums and houses for sale -2.2% at 19,523 units, the
first fall in three months.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

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