FX.co ★ Japan Housing Starts Unexpectedly Drop

Japan’s housing starts declined 2.7% year-on-year in September 2026, reversing a 6.1% increase in August and falling short of market expectations for a 2.9% rise. This was the first annual drop since March, with construction activity weakening across all major segments: owner-occupied housing (-3.4% vs +1.0% in August), rental housing (-1.6% vs +6.5%), built-for-sale homes (-4.5% vs +6.4%), prefabricated housing (-6.2% vs +12.3%), and two-by-four homes (-0.4% vs -0.9%).