Exuberant buying – with multiple offers and bidding wars – has become common across the country, reminisicent of the fevered market before the 2008 housing crash. Home prices nationwide increased year-over-year by 18% in July 2021, the largest annual growth that CoreLogic Home Price Index has measured in its 45-year history. For one, they say the housing market in 2021 is not like the boom-bust cycle leading up to the Great Recession. In the years before 2008, mortgage lenders made subprime loans to borrowers without verified income or adequate down payments while pushing risky loan products.