A home for sale in Glenview, Ill. Existing-home sales hit the highest level in more than 3 years in February. But not everyone is convinced that the housing sector's momentum has staying power. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption
Crisis In The Housing Market Perhaps no other sector was hit harder in the financial crisis and the Great Recession than the U.S. housing market. As values plummeted millions of homeowners ended up "underwater," with their homes worth less than what they owe. Revelations that banks used questionable documents in foreclosure proceedings clouded the picture further.
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Crisis In The Housing Market
Millions of homeowners ended up "underwater," with their homes worth less than what they owe.
Brickell CityCentre is a new project that includes retail, offices and two condo towers. In all, some 19 condo towers are going up in downtown Miami, just seven years after the housing market crash. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption
A "for sale" sign in San Francisco last summer. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
A sign hangs outside a house in Miami in 2010. Currently, Florida's foreclosure legal process can take a couple of years, which critics say is hurting the housing market. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Foreclosure Process Hammers Florida's Housing Market
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A sign of the times in Boca Raton, Fla. (November 2012 file photo.) Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
New homebuilding reached a 4 1/2 year high in December, welcome news for an industry that lost 2 million jobs during the downturn. Despite those job losses, the sector is experiencing a labor shortage in some parts of the U.S. Tony Dejak/AP hide caption
April 2011: A foreclosure sign in front of a home in Richmond, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Bank of America's corporate center in Charlotte, N.C. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
San Francisco: A "sold" sign in front of a home earlier this year. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
This home sold last month in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in May of 2012. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
Millions of U.S. families have a recent foreclosure on their record. Typically, that means waiting at least seven years before securing another home loan. But some families say they are having luck buying again — sometimes in as few as three years. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
A "sold" sign in San Francisco in August. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Kitsy Roberts and Janko Williams have traded a rent payment for a mortgage. The Seattle couple is planning to put a lot of sweat equity into their fixer-upper. Wendy Kaufman/NPR hide caption
This is Willow's new house. Shannon Moore hide caption
An auction sign in front of a Salem, Ore., home on Feb. 23. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption
Wells Fargo. Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Despite millions of troubled mortgages around the country, housing hasn't been a major issue in the presidential race so far. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Construction that was underway this summer in San Mateo, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption