Higher Housing Starts and Mortgage Refinancing Demand Driven by Negative Interest Rates

「In the real estate market, elevated land prices and rising construction costs continue. In addition, the potential increase in home acquisition costs resulting from higher mortgage rates is a concern, and the situation remains difficult to predict.」

「In the real estate market, land prices have remained elevated, while construction costs have continued to rise. In addition, the situation remains uncertain because of concerns that rising mortgage rates will increase the cost of purchasing a home.」

「Although nationwide residential land prices have risen, housing purchase needs have remained high, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, the continuation of monetary easing and the spread of telework.」

「Although nationwide residential land prices have risen, housing purchase needs have remained high, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, the continuation of monetary easing and the spread of telework.」

「Although housing purchase needs remain high, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, the continuation of monetary easing and the spread of telework, the market has continued to show some recent moderation in response to rising nationwide residential land price indices.」

「Although housing purchase needs remain high, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, the continuation of monetary easing and the spread of telework, the market has continued to show some recent moderation in response to rising nationwide residential land price indices.」

「Against this backdrop, the real estate market had remained strong for both new and existing homes, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, continued low interest rates, and the emergence of new housing demand associated with the spread of telework, but signs of some moderation have recently emerged.」

「Against this backdrop, the real estate market has remained strong for both new and existing homes, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, continued low interest rates, and the emergence of new housing demand associated with the spread of telework. Accordingly, the number of new mortgage loans has remained stable.」

「Against this backdrop, the real estate market has remained strong for both new and existing homes, supported by enhanced housing purchase support programs, continued low interest rates, and the emergence of new housing demand associated with the spread of telework. Accordingly, the number of new mortgage loans has remained stable.」

「In the real estate market, both existing condominiums and existing detached houses in the Tokyo metropolitan area continued to see strong activity, including a continued upward trend in transaction prices.」

「In the real estate market, transaction prices for existing condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area continued to trend upward, while the number of transactions involving existing detached houses also continued to increase, and market activity remained strong.」

「Demand associated with new lifestyles is expanding, including rising housing needs driven by the spread of telework and greater use of online banking by individuals. In addition, the social environment is changing significantly as cashless payments rapidly advance and digital innovation progresses through the use of big data, making it technically possible for financial institutions and companies in various other industries to handle many transactions through non-face-to-face channels without human intervention.」

「Although the domestic housing and real estate environment was affected by the decline in consumer sentiment and the curtailment of sales activities associated with the spread of COVID-19, the number of new private-sector mortgage loans remained stable, while mortgage receivables held by online-only banks, in particular, continued to increase.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in November 2019 totaled 73,523 units, down 12.7% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 23,655 units, down 7.3%; rental homes totaled 28,779 units, down 17.5%; condominiums for sale totaled 7,995 units, down 23.6%; and detached houses for sale totaled 12,705 units, up 1.1%.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in August 2019 totaled 76,034 units, down 7.1% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 24,027 units, down 1.6%; rental homes totaled 29,255 units, down 17.5%; condominiums for sale totaled 10,159 units, up 11.1%; and detached houses for sale totaled 12,236 units, up 2.4%.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in May 2019 totaled 72,581 units, down 8.7% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 24,826 units, up 6.5%; rental homes totaled 26,164 units, down 15.8%; condominiums for sale totaled 9,165 units, down 22.7%; and detached houses for sale totaled 11,899 units, down 0.4%. Although owner-occupied homes increased, total housing construction declined because rental homes and housing for sale decreased. Real estate market conditions nevertheless remained generally resilient, supported by the expanded mortgage tax relief program and continued low mortgage rates.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in 2018 totaled 942,370 units, down 2.3% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 283,235 units, down 0.4%; rental homes totaled 396,404 units, down 5.5%; condominiums for sale totaled 110,510 units, down 3.8%; and detached houses for sale totaled 142,393 units, up 3.0%. Total housing construction declined because owner-occupied and rental homes decreased, but real estate market conditions remained generally resilient, supported by the expanded mortgage tax relief program and continued low mortgage rates.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in November 2018 totaled 84,213 units, down 0.6% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 25,527 units, up 2.5%; rental homes totaled 34,902 units, down 6.9%; condominiums for sale totaled 10,460 units, up 15.6%; and detached houses for sale totaled 12,561 units, down 0.2%. Although housing construction remained generally flat, real estate market conditions were generally resilient, supported by the expansion of the mortgage tax relief program and continued low mortgage rates.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in August 2018 totaled 81,860 units, up 1.6% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 24,420 units, up 0.2%; rental homes totaled 35,457 units, up 1.4%; condominiums for sale totaled 9,146 units, up 0.4%; and detached houses for sale totaled 11,953 units, up 4.0%. Although housing construction has continued to show a generally flat trend, inflows of funds into the real estate market have continued against the backdrop of ongoing government housing purchase support measures and low mortgage rates, and real estate market conditions have generally remained favorable.」

「In the real estate market, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in May 2018 totaled 79,539 units, up 1.3% year on year. By type of tenure, owner-occupied homes totaled 23,321 units, down 2.2%; rental homes totaled 31,083 units, down 5.7%; condominiums for sale totaled 11,861 units, up 20.7%; and detached houses for sale totaled 11,944 units, up 5.8%. Inflows of funds into the real estate market have continued against the backdrop of ongoing government housing purchase support measures and low mortgage rates, and real estate market conditions have generally remained favorable.」

「In the housing market surrounding our Group, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in November 2017 totaled 24,904 owner-occupied homes, down 4.2% year on year for the sixth consecutive month; 37,508 rental homes, down 2.9% for the sixth consecutive month; 9,052 condominium units for sale, up 9.5% following the first increase in three months; and 12,580 detached houses for sale, up 7.7% for the second consecutive month. Although total starts declined 0.4% year on year, housing starts for sale turned upward, and demand for housing purchases is expected to remain firm, as government housing purchase support measures and low mortgage rates continue.」

「In the housing market surrounding our Group, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in August 2017 totaled 24,379 owner-occupied homes, down 7.4% year on year for the third consecutive month; 34,968 rental homes, down 4.9% for the third consecutive month; 9,109 condominium units for sale, up 33.7% for the third consecutive month; and 11,493 detached houses for sale, up 0.8% year on year following a decline in the previous month. Although total starts declined 2.0% year on year, government housing purchase support measures and low mortgage rates remain in place, and demand for housing purchases is expected to remain firm.」

「In the housing market surrounding our Group, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in May 2017 totaled 23,846 owner-occupied homes, up 1.5% year on year for the second consecutive month; 32,956 rental homes, up 1.6% for the 19th consecutive month; 9,823 condominium units for sale, down 12.6%; and 11,287 detached houses for sale, up 4.5% for the 19th consecutive month. Although total starts declined 0.3% year on year, demand for housing purchases remained high and firm, supported by extremely low mortgage rates and the continuation of government housing purchase support measures.」

「In the real estate market, demand for investment properties increased against the backdrop of favorable financing conditions resulting from historically low interest rates. Driven by an increase in new starts of rental housing, including rental apartments, new housing starts in 2016 totaled 967,237 units, up 6.4% year on year, recovering to the level before the consumption tax was raised to 8%.」

「The housing loan market remained active, driven by refinancing demand against the backdrop of government housing support measures and the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy.」

「Government support measures for home purchases and lower mortgage rates resulting from the Bank of Japan's negative interest-rate policy provided support. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, new housing starts in August 2016 increased 2.5% year on year overall, as owner-occupied and rental housing increased despite a decline in built-for-sale housing. Owner-occupied housing increased for the seventh consecutive month, up 4.3% year on year, while rental housing increased for the tenth consecutive month, up 9.9%. In addition, mortgage rates for both variable- and fixed-rate loans remained at historically low levels due to the impact of the negative interest-rate policy and other factors, stimulating demand for mortgage refinancing.」

「In the real estate market surrounding the Group, new housing starts in May 2016 totaled 78 thousand units, up 9.8% year on year. Of these, owner-occupied housing, which is closely related to the Group's business, totaled 23 thousand units, up 4.3%, while built-for-sale housing totaled 22 thousand units, up 7.9%. In the financial market, the Bank of Japan's introduction of negative interest rates in February 2016 drove mortgage rates to historically low levels and drew attention to mortgage refinancing.」