Construction of leased units less than 30m² are steadily recovering

Leased units under 30m² comprise our core field and have shown a rapid increase in recent years. The number of construction work commencing in fiscal 1999 (ending March 2000), for leased units under 30m², bottomed at 73 thousand units but showed a recovery by reaching 100 thousand units by fiscal 2002 (ending March 2003). In fiscal 2006 (ending March 2007), this figure increased further to 127.6 thousand units. Furthermore, although the proportion of residential units less than 30m² among the overall total number of leased units being constructed had increased in fiscal 2004 (ending March 2005), in the most recent two years units over 30m² showed an increase over the units less than 30m², which displayed a slight decrease. Both units had similar shares of almost one quarter of the total figure (23.7%).


Our share of supply for studio apartments is 43.8%

The reason behind this increase in leased units under 30m2, is the increase in the number of young and single households in urban areas seeking a new lifestyle, along with the birth of a new demand, such as the outsourcing of corporate dormitories and company housing.

Furthermore, the graph shown above represents the number of new units supplied by our studio apartment operations (Apartment Construction Subcontracting Business) for the construction of leased units under 30m². In fiscal 2006 (ending March 2007) we were able to maintain or improve on our high market share of 43.8% of all supplied units in the market. It is clear that we are in possession of a formidable market share in this field.