Missing Details

I was reading through this graphic at the New York Times on home prices around the country and the graphic for Los Angeles piqued my interest. It accompanies a story about the possible drop in median home prices in many cities around the country.

The graphic for Los Angeles reads:

The recession of the early 1990s hits the Los Angeles economy, and its real estate market, harder than almost anywhere else

What else happened in the early 1990s in Los Angeles that could have accounted for a downturn in the market? The Rodney King riots? Why ignore that?

After all, the Rodney King riots, which began April 29, 1992 and extended through May 4, 1992 before finally being quelled by National Guard backing up state and local law enforcement, caused billions in damages. Hundreds of businesses were torched.

The economic problems due to a downturn in the stock markets and the economy at large were beginning to recover in 1992 and 1993, and yet Los Angeles' real estate woes got even worse for two years before starting to recover slightly and begin growing again in 1997.