Edit: Of course this is not inflation adjusted (addressed in the article). There was a lot of talk on how long it would take to get back to new nominal highs (https://piggington.com/when_do_you_think_we039ll_see_2005_peak_price_again_in_nominal_t)
Nominal prices came back much faster than most people expected, with relatively low inflation. Nearly there on the more accurate $/sf.
Nominal prices are still important for those who bought near the peak and decided to ride it out.