TOKYO, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Japan's housing starts in June decreased 2.5 percent from a year before to 85,953 units, the first decline in six months, government data showed Friday.
The area for housing starts in June slid 3.0 percent on a year-on-year basis to 7.038 million square meters, falling for the first time in five months, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Housing starts on condominiums and other homes built for sale shed 15.2 percent to 21,617 units, the first decline in five months.
By region, housing starts in western Japan's Kinki region centering on Osaka fell 11.5 percent, and went down 1.4 percent in the central Japan's Chubu region including Nagoya. Starts in the Tokyo metropolitan region rose 3.0 percent in the month.
