The housing market has been devastated in the past few years, creating unprecedented problems for homeowners and putting on halt the dreams of homeowner hopefuls. Chillingly, the number of Americans who are at least a month behind on their mortgage payments has climbed to eight million. Meanwhile, up to two-thirds of bank-owned residential properties are not yet on the market, tying up the industry in ways that will take years to unravel. Maybe someday the number of housing sales will start to creep in the positive direction again, but the majority of Americans believe that the recovery is still years away.