The notion of "normal" is dubious. For a decade preceding 2008, minimal verification of income or employment was required to buy a home (prices soared). There

The notion of "normal" is dubious. For a decade preceding 2008, minimal verification of income or employment was required to buy a home (prices soared). Thereafter, the pendulum swung mightily in the other direction (having tried to purchase a home as a contractor, I can attest). Then the pandemic accelerated the migration to the suburbs for young families (prices soared). If there are as many over-levered real-estate investors as the article suggests, a market downturn will yield foreclosures, and PE firms will feast once again. There is no "normal." Only past, present, and future.