Record low mortgage rates in Japan may lure back buyers

Tokyo

MORTGAGE rates in Japan have fallen to record lows, bolstering forecasts for a rebound in the residential market dented by April's sales tax increase.

Bank of Japan stimulus will revive the 180 trillion yen (US$2.01 trillion) mortgage market, Mizuho Securities Co and JPMorgan Chase & Co forecast. Japan Housing Finance Agency's 35-year fixed rate loan set a record low of 1.47 per cent this month. The benchmark 10-year bond yield reached an unprecedented 0.265 per cent on Tuesday, 172 basis points less than the similar US Treasury yield.