Abenomics Mobilizes Japan Homebuyers to Action: Mortgages
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge to end 15 years of deflation has prompted the nation’s biggest banks to raise mortgage rates, mobilizing people like Karin Abe to buy a home four years earlier than he had planned.
“I wanted to take advantage of the low rate before it started going up,” said Abe, 26, who in April bought a three-bedroom apartment for about 30 million yen ($316,455) in Tokyo’s Edogawa ward, named for a river running through it. “I’ve always thought buying a house is something that I would do after I turn 30, but the timing just seemed perfect and I wanted to save money.”