Compared to other American cities, Atlantas economy in the past had been disproportionately affected by the 2007-2012 global financial crisis and the Great Recession, with the citys economy earning a ranking of 68 among 100 American cities in a September 2014 report due to an elevated unemployment rate, declining real income levels, and a depressed housing market. From 2010 to 2011, Atlanta saw a 0.9% contraction in employment and plateauing income growth at 0.4%. Although unemployment had decreased to 7% by late 2014, this was still higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.8% Atlantas housing market has also struggled, with home prices dropping by 2.1% in January 2012, reaching levels not seen since 1996. Compared with a year earlier, the average home price in Atlanta plummeted to 17.3% in February 2012, thus becoming the largest annual drop in the history of the index for any American or global city. The decline in home prices prompted some economists to deem Atlanta the worst housing market in the nation at the height of the depression. Nevertheless, the citys real estate market has resurged since 2012, so much that median home value and rent growth significantly outpaced the national average by 2018, thanks to a rapidly-growing regional economy.
Question: How many years had it been since Atlanta housing prices had dropped to that level?
Answer: 16