Japan housing starts fall in fiscal 2025 as declines return across all segments
- Adam German
- May 1
- 2 min read
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on April 30th released its fiscal 2025 and March 2026 housing starts statistics.
FY 2025 runs from April 2025 to March 2026.
Total housing starts nationwide in FY2025 came to 711,171 units, down 12.9% year on year, marking a return to decline after increasing in the previous fiscal year.
Total floor area fell 13.2% to 54.57 million square meters, also reversing the previous fiscal year’s growth.
Breakdown by Property Type
By category, all segments recorded year-on-year declines:
Custom Built Single-Family Home (SFH) Starts: 195,111 units (-12.6%), down for the first time in two years
Rental housing: 308,906 units (-13.5%), also down for the first time in two years
Strata-Title Housing: 200,563 units (-12.6%), down for the third consecutive year
Within the strata-title segment:
Condominiums: 82,881 units (-21.2%), reversing the previous year’s increase
Subdivided SFH: 115,200 units (-5.9%), down for the third straight year
Housing Starts in Major Metropolitan Areas
Across Japan’s three major metropolitan regions:
Greater Tokyo Area: 262,906 units (-9.9%)
Custom Built SFH Starts: 42,353 (-9.1%)
Rental housing: 129,226 (-4.5%)
Strata-Title Housing: 89,896 (-17.1%)
Greater Nagoya (Chubu) Region: 81,536 units (-11.1%)
Custom Built SFH Starts: 30,399 (-10.7%)
Rental housing: 28,082 (-11.6%)
Strata-Title Housing: 22,434 (-8.6%)
Greater Osaka (Kansai) Region: 124,069 units (-10.3%)
Custom Built SFH Starts: 26,843 (-9.5%)
Rental housing: 57,114 (-13.7%)
Strata-Title Housing: 39,146 (-6.6%)
March 2026 Results
In March alone, housing starts totaled 63,495 units, down 29.3% year on year (YoY), marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline.
All percentages detailed below refer to YoY changes, or in other words, percentage changes compared to the same month in the previous year.
Floor area also fell for a fifth consecutive month, down 29.0% to 4.87 million square meters.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate came in at 736,000 units, down 1.9% month on month, extending its decline to a third straight month.
Seasonally adjusted figures remove recurring calendar effects such as weather and fiscal-year timing, allowing for a clearer comparison of month-to-month trends.
March Breakdown by Category
Custom Built SFH Starts: 16,659 units (-27.4%), down for the second consecutive month
Rental housing: 27,678 units (-35.2%), down for the fifth straight month
Strata-Title Housing: 18,530 units (-21.7%), down for the third consecutive month
Within strata-title housing:
Condominiums: 7,463 units (-30.9%), down for the third consecutive month
Subdivided SFH: 10,806 units (-14.1%), down for the first time in six months
Sources:
R.E. Port News (Japanese only)
MLIT Housing Starts Statistics Site (Japanese only)
