When salaryman Takayuki Nakamura bought his Tokyo home last year, he got a floating-rate mortgage at a rock-bottom 0.35% and an assurance from the real estate agent that rates weren¡¯t going anywhere. After this week, he¡¯s not sure.
¡°On Tuesday, all of a sudden I¡¯m hearing the interest rates are going up,¡± said the 48-year-old father of two. ¡°It¡¯s kind of obvious that I¡¯m going to end up paying more.¡±
The Bank of Japan whipsawed global financial markets when it said on Tuesday it would allow rates to rise a little more, signaling a potential end to ultralow rates and easy money after decades of trying to revive the world¡¯s No. 3 economy.
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