Presumably part of the reason for the ghost town effect wasn't just the demand shifted but because the landlords (or banks) wouldn't blink. There presumably always a price which would have mitigated the churn, but the market failed to find it fast enough to avoid the undershoot.
During the 2001-2003 bust, rents fell quite a bit along 101 and the south bay. For an average apartment, from ~4,000 to ~2,500. High end apartments fell from ~8,000 to ~3,500
