There's not much President Obama could have done to fix the housing market, experts say.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The president's efforts to revive the housing market have largely failed. But is that entirely Obama's fault?

"I don't think anyone could have done anything to stabilize the housing market," said Ed Jacob, executive director of NHS Chicago, which provides homeownership and foreclosure prevention services. "This housing market was in far worse shape than anyone knew."

Obama took office in 2009, promising swift action to address the mortgage crisis. He quickly unveiled his signature foreclosure prevention program, known as HAMP, and his refinance program, known as HARP.

But the HAMP program, which was designed to lower troubled borrowers' mortgage rates...