SYDNEY/TOKYO -- Aisha, the 31-year-old owner of a Sydney investment property, had a wake-up call when three of the country's four major banks abruptly raised mortgage rates this month.
"Thoughts turn to selling," she said, fearing unpayable interest and a further slide in property prices, as the country's once red-hot housing market cools. A single mother who recently lost her job as a hospital administrator, Aisha has cut expenses by canceling her private health insurance, stopping subscriptions and switching to a cheaper mobile phone contract.
