The Federal Reserve's attempt to stabilize the housing market set off a chain reaction across the U.S. on Tuesday, dropping interest rates and quickly spurring a burst of refinancing activity by borrowers eager to lower their mortgage costs.

Some brokers said it was the most activity they've seen in at least one year, although there was no way to determine the volume of refinancing.

At Bank of America Corp., call volume was roughly twice what was expected at call centers and via the Internet, said Matt Vernon, national sales executive. "It's the folks who have been sitting on the sideline. They're jumping in with this news."

The construction industry, beset by one of the biggest drops in employment in the current economic downturn, could be poised for a rebound under President-elect Barack Obama's expected stimulus package.

Mr. Obama hasn't offered details, but anticipating a surge in public-works spending, investors bid up construction and engineering stocks. URS Corp., a San Francisco-based engineering and construction company, rose 34%, global giant Fluor Corp. rose nearly 17% and Granite Construction Inc., a domestic engineering company, rose 22%.

Struggling U.S. auto makers left Washington empty-handed after weeks of pleading for a handout, but that hasn't deterred home builders from stepping up to lobby Congress for help.

But any federal assistance would require policy makers to figure out how to stimulate demand for housing -- the problem at the root of the global financial meltdown -- without artificially propping up home values.