While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases respresenting a life's savings- can plunge or even disappear

A)
B) they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their
C) for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D) for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E) it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose

plz explain here they refers to what?