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Japan's housing starts declined for the ninth successive month in March, and at a faster-than-expected pace, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Friday.
Housing starts decreased 8.3 percent year-on-year in March, much faster than the 2.6 percent decline seen in February. Economists had forecast a decrease of 4.8 percent.
Annualized housing starts totaled 895,000 in March versus 926,000 in the previous month and the expected level of 930,000.
Data also showed that construction orders received by big 50 contractors dropped 4.0 percent yearly in March after a sharp growth of 19.2 percent in the prior month.
