National Finance/Housing updates

Some national news that will likely have local impact:

The FED pledges $1.2 trillion to assist the housing market. I’ve given up trying to figure out if these things make sense, but with community banks claiming to still be lending I guess this is more of a secondary market thing or a push to get them to loosen their standards a little more. Which seems counterintuitive, but frankly most of these stimulus plans seem pretty counterintuitive.

Fannie Mae refi volume jumped considerably last month as people locked in with low rates. Also, new mortgage apps rose last week. We certainly have noticed the refi increases at our title insurance company, which has helped offset a down year in new sales so far.

Interesting graphics on US migration trends.