Japan's housing starts decreased less-than-expected in March and at the fastest pace in eight months, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism showed on Friday.
Housing starts dropped 3.2 percent year-on-year in March, after a 0.3 percent drop in February. Economists were looking for a decline of 4.3 percent.
In addition, this was the sharpest decline since dwelling starts dropped 5.4 percent in July 2022.
The seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts rose to 877,000 in March from 859,000 in the previous month.
Data also showed that construction orders received by the big 50 contractors decreased 4.3 percent yearly in March, after a 22.3 percent sharp rebound in the prior month.
