New Senate Bill HR3221 passed, what does it mean for our real estate market?

Senate passed a bill on Wednesday by a 72-13 vote that will allow homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into government backed loans. It will also tighten controls and offer a temporary financial life line to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Even though many people have hard feelings toward this bill and feel that they are footing the bill for irresponsible lenders and borrowers treasury secretary Henry Paulson argued that the support given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is vital in calming the markets here in the U.S. as well as abroad. This rescue plan is intended to prevent the two pillars of our house lending market from failing and causing greater turmoil in the economy. Overall I see this bill helping all of us homeowners out of this down market we have been experiencing. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Below is an outline of the bill.
The housing bill that Congress passed Saturday and sent to President Bush would:
Give the Federal Housing Administration $300 billion in new lending authority and relax standards to provide affordable, fixed-rate mortgages to an estimated 400,000 debt-ridden homeowners. Any losses would be covered by an affordable housing fund financed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that finance mortgages.
Allow the Treasury Department temporary authority to lend money to Fannie and Freddie or buy their stock to avert a collapse of one or both of the mortgage giants. The authority would expire on Dec. 31, 2009.
Create a new regulator and tighten controls on Fannie and Freddie, including power for the regulator to approve pay packages for company executives. Create a new affordable housing fund drawn from their profits. Permanently raise the limit on the loans they may buy to $625,000 in the highest-cost areas. Allow them to buy loans 15 percent higher than the median home price in certain cities.
Provide $3.9 billion in grants to the hardest-hit communities for buying and fixing up foreclosed property.
Modernize the FHA and allow it to back loans for riskier borrowers. Permanently increase the size of loans the agency may insure — currently set to revert to $362,790 by the end of the year — to $625,000 in the highest-cost areas. The agency could insure loans 15 percent higher than the median home price in certain cities.
Forbid the FHA from insuring mortgages in which the borrower’s down payment is paid by the seller, beginning on Oct. 1, 2008.
Place a one-year moratorium forbidding the agency from charging premiums based on the riskiness of the homeowner, until Oct. 1, 2009.
Provide $15 billion in housing tax breaks, including for low-income housing. Give a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers who purchase residences between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009. Allow people who don’t itemize their taxes to claim a $500-$1,000 deduction on their 2008 property taxes.
Give states an additional $11 billion in tax-free municipal bond authority for low-interest loans to first-time home buyers, construction of low-income rental housing and refinancing subprime mortgages.
Offer protection from investor lawsuits for mortgage holders that modify loans to borrowers who are in default or about to default.
Provide $180 million for pre-foreclosure counseling and legal services for distressed borrowers.
The bill is H.R. 3221