FX.co ★ Japan Housing Starts Slow Sharply, Still Beat Expectations

Japan’s housing starts rose 18.6% year-on-year in June 2026, slowing sharply from May’s 33.9% surge but still marking a third consecutive month of expansion. The figure also comfortably beat market expectations for a 12.8% increase, indicating that housing construction remained robust despite the loss of momentum. Growth cooled across all major segments, including owner-occupied homes (15.7% vs. 31.8% in May), rental housing (24.6% vs. 33.3%), and built-for-sale homes (14.2% vs. 39.2%). By contrast, two-by-four housing starts declined 7.4%, reversing a 24.8% rise in May. Prefabricated housing showed notable strength, rebounding 13.7% after a 3.4% drop in the previous month.