The striking feature of these graphs is that in both Japan and the United States, the peaks in real estate prices and loans have more or less coincided with the peaks in the inverse dependency ratio. The actual peaks are about 15 years apart between Japan and the United States, but the pattern is surprisingly synchronous.
Similar experiences are observed in other countries as well. There are several empirical studies, employing multi-country panel analyses, which conclude that demographic changes have a significant effect on economic variables, such as property prices and long-term interest rates.