Little did people expect that the economy was brittle, and an unprecedentedly severe recession set in. The unemployment rate, including that for high level positions, rose dramatically, and housing prices collapsed. Many people who had had stable incomes were laid off or took paycuts. Moreover, bank interest rates showed a large increase, and monthly payments thus began to exceed people's budgets.
不想景氣本有榮枯，八○年末期，前所未有的大蕭條席捲而來，包括高階職務在內的失業率暴增，房價慘跌，許多原本收入穩定優渥的人也被迫裁員減薪；而銀行利率卻高幅上升，每月還款也因此遠超預算地倍增，偏偏房屋市場停滯，想拍賣脫手並不容易。