The recession was partly caused by a housing crisis. Home prices plummeted as Americans lost their homes to foreclosure and people lost their jobs and couldn't afford to buy property. Some parts of America such as Florida and Illinois were hit especially hard.

Before the crisis, the average home price was around $222,000. The good news is home prices have finally recovered back to that level in 2016, according to data on existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors.