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mpc: 16 The Committee's central projection reflected a judgment that the sustainable ratio of house prices to earnings was higher than its previous long-run average, but was still probably below the current ratio, so that house prices were likely to rise less rapidly than earnings at some stage. But there was considerable uncertainty about this judgment and its implications. The Committee noted, first, that there had been few past instances, either in the United Kingdom or abroad, when house prices had fallen without there having been a prior shock to economic or monetary conditions. The Committee's central projections, on the rising profile for interest rates implied by market expectations, showed steady growth and modest inflation, an outlook which in itself seemed unlikely to bring about a sharp correction in house prices. Second, investment demand for housing, including through the buy-to-let market, had increased rapidly in recent years. That had provided support for the market. It was now possible that either a fall in rental income relative to mortgage servicing costs, or a change in expectations about future house prices, could reduce this investment demand. Third, Bank contacts with the major lenders, although pointing to mixed views about whether the supply of mortgage lending would continue to grow as rapidly as in the recent past, suggested that most borrowers could service their loans at a significantly higher repo rate, provided that unemployment did not rise materially.