FX.co ★ Japan Housing Starts Grow the Most Since 2009

In February 2025, Japan witnessed a significant surge in housing starts with a remarkable 39.1% increase compared to the same month the previous year. This was a substantial rise from January's 2.4% growth and surpassed the market's expectations of a modest 1.0% increase. This surge represented the most rapid expansion since September 2008, driven by widespread growth across all housing categories. The data revealed notable increases in owned homes (rising 37.4% from a dip of 0.2% in January), rental properties (soaring 50.6% compared to a 3.2% rise previously), issued residences (up an impressive 99.6%, reversing a 40.4% decline), built-for-sale properties (growing 22.8% from 5.1%), prefabricated homes (up 9.9% from a slight decrease of 0.9%), and two-by-four constructions (increasing 45.9% from 10.1%).