The Last Housing Boom (and Great Recession) - What was it like?

I'm 30, so I was finishing up high school and more concerned with girls, parties, and what college I was going to get into to worry about the economy. Those a bit older, what was it like going through the housing boom - and then catastrophic bust?

My former boss told me some pretty good stories of large scale apartment developments he did - "We would buy the land with cash, secure a loan on it, and then get 100% financing through Wachovia Bank. They wouldn't even step foot on the property - not even during the Draw process. You wonder why they aren't around today."

My partner in development today was 26 at the time, owned about $5M in real estate, and scrambled to unwind about $3M in real estate before getting the rest foreclosed on.

So I'm hoping to hear about job losses, getting cursed out by your lenders who were once your best friend,  and brokers who made $1M the previous year effectively having to buy a property themselves to make a commission the following year. 

1 Comments
 

Ipsam et autem temporibus ea voluptatem. Ratione autem ullam quam a autem saepe reiciendis. Quia enim distinctio cum at fugit. Repellendus corrupti voluptatem incidunt aut.

Deserunt deserunt officia sed magni dolor illo. Aliquid enim voluptates ducimus voluptatem animi autem ut. Est qui harum eos nemo fugiat debitis rerum consequuntur.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”