Housing starts in Japan decreased for the seventh consecutive month in January, down 13.2% year over year to 66,358, following a 2.1% annual fall in December 2017, government data showed.
Construction of privately owned houses rose 0.1% in January after slipping 2.5% year over year in December 2017. This is the first annual increase since a 1.5% rise in May 2017.
Meanwhile, built-for-sale house starts fell 27.5% in January after a 1.3% decline in December 2017.
