Nah, people are objecting because they don't want to hear facts that contradict their preferred narrative. They want to believe that construction instantly lowe

Nah, people are objecting because they don't want to hear facts that contradict their preferred narrative. They want to believe that construction instantly lowers prices, and any information that contradicts this narrative is voted into the dirt on HN. I grant you that 2008 was exceptional, as recessions go...but it's not rare to see projects abandoned. I saw it in Seattle in 2001 as well. It just depends on the state of the projects when the recession hits -- you might not get "holes in the ground" unless the decline hits quite suddenly (as in 2008), but you definitely see projects abandoned. That's universal.