Indeed, the higher level of house prices and rents (relative to  5  See Hsieh W, D Norman and D Orsmond (2012), “Supply-side Issues in the Housing Sector”, RBA Bulletin, September, pp 11–19. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  incomes) may have been somewhat of a constraint on household formation and therefore demand for new housing.
Otherwise, they may continue to roll over legacy loans, thus restricting the resources available for new lending in support of the real economy – so-called “ever-greening”.