Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Perhaps I will give the lecture to Professor Ahearne.

I am simply saying that if somebody buys a house over a 20 or 30-year schedule, he or she will pay interest and capital during that period and pare down the debt. One could value a house in terms of affordability, at three times the income of the purchaser and his or her partner. Another way to value it is to consider the rental income it would accrue annually and multiply it by ten or 12. In terms of prices increasing, and given that there were investors in the market as well as people buying homes, for the purchasers of buy-to-let properties who were paying interest only, spread over 35 years with a balloon payment at the end, the loan-to-value ratio was very low but because the rent serviced the interest no capital was paid down. Was that distorting the value of rents and therefore distorting the value of the property?