market review underwriting requirements. more worryingly, surveys suggest some slowing could reflect would - be sellers holding back properties from the market in anticipation of higher future prices – an early sign of extrapolative price expectations. the underlying dynamic of the housing market reflects a chronic shortage of housing supply, which the bank of england can ’ t tackle directly. 5 since we are not able to build a single house, i welcome the chancellor ’ s announcement tonight of measures to increase housing supply. ten years ago, former mpc member kate barker estimated that construction of around 260, 000 homes a year would be necessary to contain real house price growth at 1 per cent per annum ( barker, 2004 ). far fewer have in fact been built in the years since – just 110, 000 in 2013. because housing demand tends to rise more than onebis central bankers ’ speeches to be clear, the bank does not target asset price inflation in general or house prices in particular. it is indebtedness that concerns us. this is partly because over - extended borrowers could threaten the resilience of the core of the financial system since credit to households represents the lion ’ s share of uk banks ’ domestic lending. it is also because rapid growth in or high levels of mortgage debt can affect the stability of the economy as a whole. an economic expansion is more precarious if there are a large proportion of heavily indebted households. history shows that the british people do everything they can to pay their mortgages. that means cutting back deeply on other expenditures when the unexpected happens, potentially slowing the economy sharply. that ’ s why recessions that follow rapid credit growth tend to be deeper and longer lasting. it is for these reasons that the bank of england ’ s financial policy committee ( fpc ) is mandated to address systemic risks arising from unsustainable levels of debt, leverage or credit growth. in this regard, the uk starts from a vulnerable position with household debt at 140 % of disposable income. 6 there are some signs that underwriting standards are becoming more lax, with the proportion of new mortgages at high loan - to - income ratios now at an all - time high. 7 the increase in house prices in the past year means we can expect the proportion of high loan - toincome mortgages to grow further in the coming year even if the housing market begins to slow. this is concerning because a durable expansion requires mortgages to be serviceable over their lifetime not

##colour sketch by her sister cassandra. to the side are two further images celebrating austen ’ s work : an illustration of miss elizabeth bennet undertaking “ the examination of all the letters which jane had written to her ” ; and an image of godmersham park, home of austen ’ s brother, edward austen knight, and believed to be the inspiration for a number of her novels. the central design in the background of the note is inspired by the twelve - sided writing table and writing quills used by austen at chawton cottage, where she lived and wrote most of her novels. also included is a quote from pride and prejudice – “ i declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! ” as austen ’ s final resting place, this building – winchester cathedral – is also commemorated in the note, featuring in the foil. the bank of england is committed to ensuring our banknotes recognise the diversity of their users not only through the characters represented but also through their ease of use. that is why we are introducing a new tactile feature on the £10 to help the visually impaired : a series of dots in the upper left - hand corner. these dots join existing features, such as differing colour palettes and raised print, that enable those who are blind and visually impaired to recognise different notes, ensuring the nation ’ s money is as inclusive as possible. this short video illustrates these and other features of the note. conclusion our banknotes serve as repositories of the country ’ s collective memory, promoting awareness of the united kingdom ’ glorious history and highlighting the contributions of its greatest citizens. that tradition continues with the new £10. as austen herself advised us “ you must learn some of my philosophy. think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure. ” today, we look forward to the launch of the new £10 note, graced by jane austen, as we look back to her life and celebrate the joy she has brought, and is yet to bring, to all those who read her work. the advantage of using the engraving, rather than the original portrait, is that it has sufficient detail that it can be used without requiring any alterations to the image. this image is from a drawing by isabel bishop ( 1902 - 1988 ), who illustrated e. p. dutton & company ’ s 1976 edition of pride and prejudice. miss bingley, chapter xi. other features of bank of england banknotes that aid the visually impaired include the tiered sizing of different denominations and