Japan's housing starts decreased for the fifth straight month in October, though at a slower-than-expected pace, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism showed on Thursday.
Housing starts dropped 6.3 percent year-on-year in October, following a 6.8 percent decline in September. Economists had expected a stable decline of 6.8 percent.
Data showed that new construction was contracted in all categories, including owned, issued, rented, and built for scale.
The seasonally adjusted annualised number of housing starts rose to 808,000 in October from 800,000 in the previous month.
Data also showed that construction orders received by the big 50 contractors recovered 4.2 percent annually in October, reversing a 3.0 percent decrease in the prior month.
