Home busts are relatively rare

Busts are relatively rareThe FDIC economists found that only 17% of local U.S. housing booms in the 1978-1998 period ended in busts, defined as a 15% or greater drop in nominal home prices over five years. This economic stress as economies stumbled in Oil Patch states weighed heavily on their housing markets. In the worst cases, nominal home prices fell by 40% and 33% in Lafayette, La., and Casper, Wyo., respectively, between 1983 and 1988.

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http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P117171.asp