Housing starts dropped 10.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 101,168 units, marking the sixth straight month of falls, the infrastructure ministry said Tuesday.

Of the three main categories of housing starts, those on owner-occupied houses fell 9.9 percent to 36,216 units for the seventh straight monthly decline, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.

Starts on homes for rent fell 5.3 percent to 37,808, and those on owner-occupied condominiums and houses built by developers for sale fell 17.9 percent to 26,395. Falls in both categories follow rises in the previous month.

By region, housing starts in the Tokyo metropolitan area declined 10.2 percent and those in the Kinki region fell 22.4 percent. Starts in the Chubu region decreased 13.7 percent.

Starts in other regions shrank 4.7 percent.