Japanese rush into flexi-rate mortgages raises concerns

[TOKYO] Japanese homebuyers are piling into floating-rate mortgages, stirring debate over whether they are too complacent as Bank of Japan (BOJ) stimulus revives inflation.

The proportion of home loans with adjustable rates climbed to 42.8 per cent of Japan's new lending in February, the highest since December, according to data from Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHFA). The lowest variable mortgage rate at Japan's three biggest banks was at 0.775 per cent, compared with a 10-year fixed rate of 1.3 per cent.

Outstanding housing loans to individuals expanded to 113.7 trillion yen (S$1.38 trillion), the most since at least 1974 in June as BOJ Governor Haruhiko RKuroda's monthly sovereign bond buying aimed at ending deflation made it cheaper than ever to finance a home purchase.