Despite the fact that housing remains a hot button item, Democrats largely were silent on the issue at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 4-6, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Sept. 5.

Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, made housing part of the GOP platform, which was announced Aug. 28.

The housing market has improved since the worst of the crisis, but the White House only can take a little credit for the turnaround, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program boosted loan modifications by about 0.7 percent and reduced foreclosures by 0.48 percent.

The tepid improvement is one reason some experts said that the Democrats have remained mostly silent on the housing issue, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.  

However, behind the scenes, 19 real estate industry trade groups met with legislators in Charlotte to impress upon politicians the importance of addressing the housing market. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that the National Association of Realtors expressed particular concern about potential changes in the mortgage interest deduction, which, if reduced or eliminated, could cut home values by 15 percent.

Alexandra Jackiw, chairman-elect of the National Apartment Association, told Bloomberg Businessweek that she was disappointed that both the Democrats and the Republicans failed to address housing in any meaningful way at their respective conventions, noting that the multifamily housing market alone is a $2 trillion industry.

Meanwhile, experts noted their disappointment that several keynote speakers, including California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, who has led anti-foreclosure measures in her home state, and Elizabeth Warren, an academic expert on consumer debt who helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, failed to spend much time discussing housing in their speeches, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.