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→Bubble bursts
==Bubble bursts==
==Bubble bursts==
Housing prices in parts of the U.S. (especially California and Florida), as well as parts of Europe (such as Ireland) escalated rapidly 2001-2006, then crashed, helping to bring on the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]]
Housing prices in parts of the U.S. (especially California and Florida), as well as parts of Europe (such as Ireland) escalated rapidly 2001-2006, then crashed, helping to bring on the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]]
[[File:Houses$.jpg|thumb|300px|Left|Crash of U.S. housing prices in 2007-09]]
[[File:Housing$.jpg|thumb|350px|Left|Crash of U.S. housing prices in 2007-09]]
The housing "bubble" burst in 2006-07, as prices plunged downward in the Sunbelt. Many speculators and homeowners could not meet their payments, especially those who had "[[sub-prime]]" mortgages because their income was too low to support the eventual monthly payments, or who had adjustable rate mortgages where the monthly payments started small then escalated. [[Foreclosure]]s skyrocketed. With housing prices falling few people risked buying a new house (because it would soon be worth less than they paid for it). Construction firms had built millions of new houses that could not be sold but which glutted the market. By late 2008 half the home sales in the U.S. were by banks selling houses they had foreclosed on at low prices.
The housing "bubble" burst in 2006-07, as prices plunged downward in the Sunbelt. Many speculators and homeowners could not meet their payments, especially those who had "[[sub-prime]]" mortgages because their income was too low to support the eventual monthly payments, or who had adjustable rate mortgages where the monthly payments started small then escalated. [[Foreclosure]]s skyrocketed. With housing prices falling few people risked buying a new house (because it would soon be worth less than they paid for it). Construction firms had built millions of new houses that could not be sold but which glutted the market. By late 2008 half the home sales in the U.S. were by banks selling houses they had foreclosed on at low prices.