As the housing bubble collapsed, the cycle of defaults and falling prices began that would ultimately cause home values to:

A. fall by more than 90 percent in the hardest-hit areas.
B. stop rising, practically halting the mortgage loan industry for a number of years.
C. fall by more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas.
D. fall by about 25 percent in the hardest-hit areas.

C. fall by more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas.