But it's not house prices that are important. It's housing affordability, which is better measured by monthly mortgage payments (and rents).

However, that was not what happened in and after 2008.

Availability of credit collapsed. So owning housing got cheaper for people who could still get credit, but renting did not become cheaper. Have a look at the backlog of https://www.idiosyncraticwhisk.com/ for more than you ever wanted to know about the topic. (Or splurge on the author's book.)