2000-2010

In the 2000s, median home prices continued to rise from $119,600 in 2000 to $179,900 in 2010. The average inflation rate? Fell from 3.4% to 1.6%.

What started happening in the 1990s, following Bill Clinton’s presidency, continued into 2000. America saw the same economic expansion until, in 2001, it all came to a halt. From 2000 to 2010, the S&P 500 fell from 1,320 to 1,258, losing money. The index peaked at 1,527.46 before following a steady, gradual decline to 776.76 over just 30 months.

But it was between 2007 and 2009 that America saw the worst of it, even though it was also in the early 2000s that we all went through a rough housing market. The subprime mortgage crisis which lead to the destruction of the housing market took experts and the nation by surprise in 2008.

From a median of $205,700, the housing market fell to $180,100, a historic 12.4% fall. Southern California was one of the worst-hit areas in the nation, seeing a 35% decline.

Not only did people struggle to pay their mortgages, but unemployment also rose all across the nation, from 4.5% in 2006 to 9% in 2009. The S&P 500 peaked at 1565.15 on the 9th of October 2007, then fell to 682.55 on March 5th, 2009.