What's your source on this?

Here is an example from Ireland:

The unemployment rate rose from 4.2% in 2007 to reach 14.6% in February 2012.[33]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-2008_Irish_economic_downturn#Unemployment

But it was essentially the same in the late 80s/early 90s in the UK when I was acutely aware of the struggles my parents had at the time, and leaving high school and going for a job at the photo printing section of a pharmacy which had 180 applicants.

They're doing the same thing in NZ right now. The houses are on the market, but less people are buying. It's a bit of a convenient myth that sellers would just stop listing houses.

Have prices decreased in NZ? Or is the current boom just coming to an end? There is a massive difference between a crash/downturn and a period of low growth.

Not all investors have the time to wait for a crash and recovery, they will try to get out early

Ok. We'll see.

RemindMe! Jan 1 2023 "Has the property market crashed yet?"