More refinancing predicted in State of Union Address

I watched the President’s State of the Union Address to Congress last night. Sandwiched between the passages on education reform and health care reform – two controversial and attention grabbing topics – was this passage that might be of interest to real estate professionals:

Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle class. That's why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on middle-class families. That's why we're nearly doubling the child care tax credit, and making it easier to save for retirement by giving access to every worker a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg. That's why we're working to lift the value of a family's single largest investment –- their home. The steps we took last year to shore up the housing market have allowed millions of Americans to take out new loans and save an average of $1,500 on mortgage payments.

This year, we will step up refinancing so that homeowners can move into more affordable mortgages. (Applause.) And it is precisely to relieve the burden on middle-class families that we still need health insurance reform. (Applause.) Yes, we do. (Applause.)

I’m not sure what the President intends to do to “step up refinancing” but it was a proposal that certainly sounded good to me.