Actually, nominal interest rates were in double digits, but I don’t beleive real interest rates were that different then they are today. (Quck econ lesson, if inflation is 10% and the nominal interest is 12%, then real interest rates are 2%)
In any case, my question was regarding the characteristics and time duration of the last couple of busts. How long did prices take to from point a down to point b once the uptrend stalled? (Anyone know where this data might be available?)
My defination of a reasonable entry point is not based on price action, but on relative price to median income. Rich has some great charts showing how houses are currently trading at 15x median income, when the historic average has been around 8. When prices get closer to that reality, then I think they will be more sustainable and thus reasonable.
