The housing market seems to be prone to booms and busts. For example, Ireland, Spain, the UK and the US all experienced booms over the 10 year period prior to 2007, which then turned to busts. In Ireland prices rose by a factor of four, before then halving again between 2007 and 2012 (according to the Economist’s interactive guide to the world's housing market). The boom-bust cycle of the housing...