The Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF) announced on March 14 that new housing loan disbursements by financial institutions for the October–December 2024 quarter totaled ¥5.2555 trillion, a slight decline of 0.3% year-on-year (YoY), in other words compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Breakdown by Institution Type
Domestic banks: ¥4.123 trillion (+1.2% YoY)
Labor banks (Rōkin): ¥429.1 billion (+9.8% YoY)
Credit unions (Shinkin): ¥363.8 billion (-8.5% YoY)
JHF's "Flat 35": ¥196.2 billion (-13.3% YoY)
Despite the slight quarterly decline, cumulative loan disbursements from April to December 2024 reached ¥15.9662 trillion, marking a 5.4% YoY increase.
Historical Trends
A quarterly year-on-year comparison reveals steady growth in housing loan disbursements:
Fiscal Year 2024 (April–December): ¥15.9662 trillion (+5.4% YoY)
April–June: ¥5.2036 trillion
July–September: ¥5.5071 trillion
October–December: ¥5.2555 trillion
Fiscal Year 2023 (April–December): ¥15.1539 trillion
April–June: ¥4.7007 trillion
July–September: ¥5.1811 trillion
October–December: ¥5.2720 trillion
While domestic banks and labor banks saw notable increases in disbursements, credit unions and JHF’s "Flat 35" loans experienced declines, contributing to the slight dip in Q4.
Sources:
R.E. Port News (Japanese only)