Japan Housing Starts Fall the Most Since 2009

Japan’s housing starts plunged 34.4% year-over-year in May 2025, sharply missing market expectations of a 14.8% drop and worsening from a 26.6% decline in the previous month.

It marked the third monthly decrease this year and the steepest fall since September 2009, as new dwellings contracted across most categories: owned (-30.9% vs -23.7% in April), rented (-30.5% vs -27.9%), built-for-sale (-43.8% vs -29.7%), prefabricated (-9.3% vs -20.5%), and two-by-four homes (-26.4% vs -46.6%).

In contrast, construction starts for issued units accelerated (76.7% vs 27.3%).