Japan Aug housing starts down 38.3 pct yr/yr -govt

Published: 29 Sep 2009 21:07:47 PST

TOKYO, Sept 30 - Housing starts in Japan fell 38.3 percent in August from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, a bigger drop than a median market forecast for a 31.8 percent slide.

It was the ninth straight month of declines in housing starts as consumers grew cautious about spending due to deteriorating job and income conditions.

Orders received by 50 major construction companies in August fell 25.2 percent from a year earlier to 694.3 billion yen ($7.7 billion) marking the 10th straight month of falls.