In a report released from the National Association of Realtors, 2008 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the subject of down payment size on residential real estate and how it has affected the market in general is examined.

The 100+ page report shows that as of the end of 2008, a disturbing 20% of all U.S. homes have a mortgages that are "underwater." This amounts to 8.3 million homes.

Since the report was issued a few months ago, it’s no stretch to imagine that those figures have gone up.

So how did we get here?

Eric Mangan of ForSaleByOwner.com says declining home values are a root cause, but declining home prices are not the only cause of the underwater mortgage phenomenon.

“Consider that a mortgage amount is simply a home's sales price minus its down payment,” says Mangan. “It is accurate to say that mortgages are more likely to go underwater whenever a smaller down payment exists.”

The NAR report reveals a snap shot of what much of America’s down payment data looks like:

--The median down payment amount for all homebuyers is ONLY 9 percent

--The median down payment amount for first time homebuyers is ONLY 4 percent

--29% of all home buyers put 0% down to buy their home; and

--34% of first-time homebuyers put 0% down to buy their home.

Such low down payment amounts, coupled with decreasing home prices, are the reasons why there are such a large percentage of homeowners who are upside down. True, these consumers obviously made a bad decision to over-leverage themselves, but the fundamental questions surrounding this debacle still remain.

As a member of the media who reported on the worsening real estate market, I and many others became the bull’s eye for the wrath of Realtors, mortgage reps and homebuilders alike as the primary reason this market went south.

We beg to differ.

It's logical to assume that any financial advisor would advise homebuyers to save up for at least a 15-20% down payment.

So who was encouraging or advising consumers to buy homes that they couldn't afford?