Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc. plans to boost its home sales by about 18 percent next year as a drop in housing inventories signaled a rebound after the March 11 earthquake.

The developer aims to sell 4,000 apartments for the year ending March 2013, up from a target of 3,400 for the current business year, Kamezo Nakai, president of Nomura Real Estate, said in an interview.

The company was left with 42 unsold apartments in the three months ended September, the lowest in more than four years, according to its website.