Homeowners soon missed payments and, when the home-equity train slowed, couldn’t refinance either. Defaults rose and the market went into a tailspin. John Burns, a longtime consultant for major home builders, said the housing downturn might have had a “soft landing” if it had remained there. Risk spread through the financial system, unnoticed by many until it triggered the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Prices across the six-county region ultimately plunged 51%, according to CoreLogic.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 04, 2018 14:03 UTC