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Number of new housing starts by structure in 179 municipalities in Hokkaido in 2019

The number of new housing starts by structure in 179 municipalities in Hokkaido in 2019 has been finalized. The total number of new housing starts in Hokkaido was 21,406, up 1.9% from the previous year. The number of wooden (W) structures, which account for nearly 80% of the total, increased by 2.3% to 16,745, the first increase in two years. The number of steel (S) structures increased by 3% to 3,355. By jurisdiction, the number of new housing starts was higher than the previous year in 10 regions, including Ishikari (excluding Sapporo), Oshima and Okhotsk. The number in Sapporo, which accounts for 30% of the total, was 7,258, an increase of 2.6%.

We analyzed the construction start statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Looking at the changes over the past eight years, the number of new housing starts reached a record high of 23,063 in 2013 due to the last-minute demand before the consumption tax hike, but subsequently decreased to 19,961 in 2014. In recent years, the number has stayed at around 21,000.

In 2019, the number of W structures increased by 2.3% to 16,745, the number of steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) structures increased by 34.8% to 31, and the number of S structures increased by 3% to 3,355. On the contrary, the number of reinforced concrete (RC) structures decreased by 12.4% to 947, dropping below 1,000 for the first time in eight years. The number of concrete block (CB) structures also decreased by 52.9% to 8.

By jurisdiction, Nemuro Subprefecture saw the highest growth rate of 31% with 359 new housing starts; the number in Nemuro City increased by 19.4% to 80, and the number in Nakashibetsu Town increased by 47.9% to 176 due to an increase in the number of W, RC and S structures from the previous year.

Soya Subprefecture witnessed an increase of 12.9%, the second highest growth rate after Nemuro Subprefecture; in Esashi Town, the number of W structures increased by 77.8% to 32 and that of S structures increased 3.3 times to 13, doubling the total number of new housing starts to 45. Hidaka Subprefecture saw 255 new housing starts, an increase of 9.4%; the number in Biratori Town increased 2.4 times to 24 and that in Samani Town increased 2.4 times to 12.

By municipality, Sapporo saw the largest new housing starts with 5,260 W structures (up 3.4%), 14 SRC structures (3.5 times), 660 RC structures (down 13.2%), 1,153 S structures (up 4.6%) and 171 other structures (up 46.2%).

Looking at cities with a population of 100,000 or more, the number of new housing starts was 1,335 (down 3%) in Asahikawa, 1,096 (up 4.3%) in Hakodate, 571 (down 0.7%) in Kushiro, 869 (up 2.2%) in Tomakomai, 876 (up 0.3%) in Obihiro, 318 (down 1.2%) in Otaru, 478 (up 5.1%) in Kitami, and 820 (up 18.7%) in Ebetsu.

(Excerpt from an article on March 4, 2020)

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