The 1920s American Real Estate Boom and the Downturn of the Great Depression: Evidence from City Cross Sections (2024)

In the 1929-1933 downturn of the Great Depression, house values and homeownership rates fell more, and mortgage foreclosure rates were higher, in cities that had experienced relatively high rates of house construction in the residential real-estate boom of the mid-1920s. Across the 1920s, boom cities had seen the biggest increases in house values and homeownership rates. These patterns suggest that the mid-1920s boom contributed to the depth of the Great Depression through wealth and financial effects of falling house values. Also, they are very similar to cross-sectional patterns across metro areas around 2006.

The 1920s American Real Estate Boom and the Downturn of the Great Depression: Evidence from City Cross Sections (2024)

FAQs

What happened in real estate in the 1920s? ›

Across the 1920s, boom cities had seen the biggest increases in house values and homeownership rates. These patterns suggest that the mid-1920s boom contributed to the depth of the Great Depression through wealth and financial effects of falling house values.

What happened to real estate during the Great Depression? ›

Housing values dropped by approximately 35 percent. A house, worth $6,000 before the Depression, was worth approximately $3,900 in 1932. By the early 1930s, many people owed more money through their existing mortgages than the reduced value of their home.

When was the most dramatic real estate downturn since the Great Depression? ›

The global economic downturn that began in December 2007 and ended in April 2009 influenced the real estate environment more than any other occurrence. This period of economic turmoil is called the Great Recession, when many faced unprecedented financial challenges.

What was housing like during the 1920s? ›

But homes for the average American weren't all glitz and glamour. Some were wood-shingled, others had tiled roofs—and a startlingly large number of them were brand-new. The 1920s saw a historic housing boom, with modest residential homes springing up in styles of all kinds, thanks to new construction technologies.

Was there a housing boom in the 1920s? ›

The 1920s: The Housing Boom and Bust

This created a self-reinforcing cycle in which prices continued to rise. Eventually, however, the housing market reached a point where demand could no longer keep pace with prices, leading to a sharp decline in values.

What changed American homes the most during the 1920s? ›

Answer and Explanation: Both electricity and indoor plumbing changed American homes drastically during the 1920s. Electricity became more widespread, allowing people to use electricity for lighting as well as for powering appliances that made women's lives much easier.

How did the Great Depression affect housing Quizlet? ›

As the Depression grew worse, millions of urban and rural families lost their homes. Desperate for shelter, many of the homeless built shantytowns in and around the nation's cities. These homeless camps came to be called Hoovervilles (named after President Herbert Hoover).

What was the housing Act during the Great Depression? ›

As the Great Depression eased somewhat and the prospect of improved financial status for individual families increased, the National Housing Act of 1934 was passed to relieve unemployment and stimulate the release of private credit in the hands of banks and lending institutions for home repairs and construction.

How did the collapse of the housing market cause the Great Recession? ›

This decline in home prices helped to spark the financial crisis of 2007-08, as financial market participants faced considerable uncertainty about the incidence of losses on mortgage-related assets.

What caused the downturn of the Great Depression? ›

A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction. These crises included a stock market crash in 1929, a series of regional banking panics in 1930 and 1931, and a series of national and international financial crises from 1931 through 1933.

What year marked the worst of the Great Depression? ›

From 17 April 1930 until 8 July 1932, the market lost 89% of its value. Despite the crash, the worst of the crisis did not reverberate around the world until after 1929. The crisis hit panic levels again in December 1930, with a bank run on the Bank of United States (privately run, no relation to the government).

Did real estate crash in 1929? ›

During the 1920s prices reached their highest level in the third quarter of 1929 before falling by 67% at the end of 1932 and hovering around that value for most of the Great Depression.

What were urban areas like in the 1920s? ›

Urban culture in the 1920s was indulgent and modern. Young people in cities thrived and shared ideas about feminism while partying, consuming alcohol, and going to the movies. The Roaring Twenties is also associated with glamor and parties.

What is 1920s house style called? ›

Earlier Modernistic houses of the 1920s were in the Art Deco style, while later examples were in the more streamlined Art Moderne style. Both were adaptations of the popular forms used on commercial buildings of the time (like New York City's Chrysler Building).

How did home life change in the 1920s? ›

“The nature of domestic life changes for urban women, certainly, in the '20s,” Dumenil says. By 1927, nearly two-thirds of American homes would have electricity, and new consumer goods like the washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner were revolutionizing housework and home life.

How were homes decorated in the 1920s? ›

The Art Deco movement played a major role in home decor in the 1920s. Major characteristics of the home during this time included geometric furniture, bold colors, and statement mirrors.

What year was the real estate crisis? ›

Collapsing home prices from subprime mortgage defaults and risky investments on mortgage-backed securities burst the housing bubble in 2008. Real estate prices rose steadily in the United States for decades, with slowdowns caused only by interest rate changes along the way.

What was the biggest real estate crash in history? ›

The 2008 housing market crash was one of the primary causes of the global financial crisis, wreaking havoc on the financial stability of entire economies the world over.

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