From Tom Ruff in The Cromford Report;
A History of Boom and Bust
I thought it would be interesting to take a historical look at new home construction in Maricopa County. A simple summation of the assessor’s file is shown in the graph below, showing all homes in Maricopa County by year built. As evident by the chart, we have a rich tradition of boom-and-bust cycles traceable to the 1920s. We can see the Great Depression, World War II, the recession in 1960, the oil embargo of the 70s, the recession of the early 80s, the S&L crisis, the tech bubble, the housing bubble, and the Great Recession. Do our booms magnify our busts? Do the busts magnify our booms? My answers: yes and yes. You don’t predict the future by looking at the past; however, if I were a betting man, when our current cycle ends….well, you decide. [emphasis added]
Okay, I feel better.