Struggles with memories of '90s housing crash

The L.A. Times reports:

John Rockey has been hanging drywall for 35 years, and he's seen it all in the boom-again, bust-again Antelope Valley housing market.

As residential construction flourished in the late 1980s, his company's ranks swelled to 200 — then shriveled to five when the economy tanked a couple of years later.

By the time a new building spree peaked in 2005, Rockey's payroll had again grown to 200. But then came slumping home sales and a sharp rise in mortgage defaults and foreclosures.

Now, his Lancaster-based Progression Drywall Corp. is down to 50 employees, and he's got a serious case of deja vu.

"This is looking like 1990 all over again," he said.

The boom and bust cycle in California real estate hasn't been eliminated.