Hard disagree. I lived through the last recession (here in Dublin Ireland), and life was better for most people across most dimensions. Whether it would have been sustainably so is a broader argument. But cheap buildings led to a massive cultural renaissance that was effectively killed (by council and government dictat) five years later.

The only place in the developed world where housing prices have declined (or even remained stagnant) over the long term is Japan, a country in long term recession.

I wrote about this in detail here - https://garethstack.com/2015/10/28/by-believing-passionately...