March 2022 Japan Housing/Non-Resi Starts
March 2022 Japan Housing Starts
March total housing starts rose 6.0% to 76,120 units. While owner occupied housing fell 9.4%, rental housing gained 18.6%. The mansion condominium market advanced 2.2%. Wooden housing edged 0.6% higher to 39,225 units. Post and beam starts fell 2% to 30,524 units. Wooden prefab starts declined 4.9% to 780 units and total prefab housing rose 3.7% to 8,694 units. Platform frame starts posted their strongest showing in some time, rising 12.7% to 7,921 units. Results of 2×4 starts by housing type were as follows: single family custom homes fell 6.4% to 2,269 units, rental housing jumped 25.5% to 4,679 units and built for sale spec housing increased 11.4% to 955 units.
March 2022 Non-Residential Construction
Total non-residential starts fell 3.2% to 3,458 units and wooden non-residential starts posted a 1% gain to finish at 1,333 units. However, floor area posted significant declines with total floor area falling 12.8% and wooden floor area falling 14.4%. In the wooden segment while the total number of buildings remains flat, the average size of buildings is declining. Industry experts report that rising materials and construction costs are resulting in fall in large agricultural buildings, elderly and social care facilities as some buyers are either downsizing, postponing or shelving prospective projects.