increased drastically because of the very low interest rates that we've had over the last couple of decades and is very difficult for the young to buy houses. In the short run, I expect nominal interest rates to go up to a point where the housing markets in our economy is crack and we get a fairly sharp decline in housing prices. But I was thinking much more of the medium and longer term future whereby with housing prices having been brought sharply down from the present very exalted levels that the misallocation of floorspace because of the old wanting to stay on in their big houses will lead to a greater demand for housing overall than simply looking at demographic figures might otherwise suggest. But as you say, if the young stay on at home, then that won't happen. But it's a question of whether the young will stay on at home. One point in your favor of your argument is that the age of having the first child and very frequently the only child has now risen very sharply so that when (36/43)
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