Although Japanese housing starts declined at a slower rate in August, they are still well below the levels of last year, data from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Tuesday.
Housing starts fell 12.5 percent year-over-year in August following a 14.1 percent drop in July, but results are better than what economists have expected: a decrease of 14.2 percent.
Annualized housing starts increased to 845,000 in August from 839,000 in July. This was more than the 837,000 result forecast by economists.
In 2014, except January and February, the output of the Japanese construction industry has been lower than 2013 in every single month.