Note 1-64

(64)However, the vacancy rate has been rising at the same pace as during its rise in the past, despite the fact that housing starts have been sluggish amid the steady increase in the number of households. This is because the number of houses rebuilt or abolished has decreased sharply. This suggests that house rebuilding is being postponed. (The figures for 1999 and beyond are estimates. Depending on the estimation methods, the growth of the vacancy rate may have been restrained slightly more. As for the estimation method, see Figure 1-2-30. Even in such a case, however, it is certain that the number of houses rebuilt or abolished has been decreasing.) Incidentally, the fact that the vacancy rate has been on a rising trend may have something to do with changes of taste, such as contents of houses, the location of houses and their aging (for example, the recent drift of population toward urban centers).