If there's one thing you can count on from the US Federal Government, it's that they do not allow themselves to be bound by trivialities such as consistency and logic. To wit, Washington has decided to gut many of the policies put into place in the wake of the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis. 

The net effect is these changes will push the gas pedal on the housing market. As a real estate agent, one might thing I'd consider that unequivocally good news. However, I'm content to see the market chug along at a steady pace. We've had plenty of excitement the last 10 years, with every moment being a strong sellers market or a strong buyers market, and rarely in balance.

Ironically, the one policy reversal that our market could really use is nowhere to be seen. Specifically, when the loan limits for FHA funding were reduced -- unexpectedly and without advance notice at the start of the year -- a lot of builders projects suddenly became unviable. It knocked the wind out of the $300-$350k market, and it would greatly help housing starts and the larger economy to have that market revived.

To learn more about Washington's "U-turn from previous directives" please read the Wall Street Journal's important article here.