Dr. Mark Cassidy:

Yes, and let me clarify what I would say about the term "might otherwise be alarming". If prices are increasing fuelled by a lending boom - a credit boom - and people are purchasing houses not out of the income they are earning in work but are borrowing to do so and we get the same dynamic that we saw in the 2000s, and if there is a fixed supply of housing or housing that is increasing somewhat, people are borrowing more, which puts upward pressure on prices and means that other people coming after them have to borrow more again. I suppose that price credit dynamic is what we would be most concerned with and we have very clear evidence from the past about what that can lead to.

The second comment I would make is that there is clearly an issue with regard to affordability of housing at the moment. House prices are extremely high. Many individuals and families cannot afford appropriate suitable accommodation, whether to rent or buy. The issue very clearly for us is a shortage in the supply of housing. That is a factor that needs to be addressed if that problem is to be overcome.