Wow... Talk about night and day in the appraisal industry. After rate cuts by the FED in  November and December, a flood of refinances came through the office, which made this the busiest month of last year.  Banks, after being given billions of dollars  in the government bailout, finally seemed to be loosening there grip on credit and the public was able to benefit. While I have not seen any signs of prices stabilizing, or an increase in purchases, at least we are starting to see the effects of the government's actions helping  typical homeowners. Though it's too early to see the light at the end of the tunnel, there is a chance we're at least on the right road.