Some quotes from the Reuters housing summit. "A potential housing bubble and rising inflation are the two biggest threats to the U.S. economy, the head of General Electric Co.'s vast real estate operations said on Tuesday. Excessive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve also pose a danger to an economy that's currently growing well, Michael Pralle, CEO of GE Real Estate, said."

"'If you have a significant value decline in major markets like New York, Boston and San Francisco, that could significantly impair confidence in the economy,' Pralle said, adding that he did not think there was a national housing bubble."

"U.S. home builders are adding incentives to lure buyers but are keeping prices steady, real estate executives said this week. 'In the latter part of 2005 and 2006, we're learning how to creatively lower prices in those communities that are having a tougher time,' said Robert Toll, CEO of Toll Brothers Inc. 'Incentives are all over the place,' he said."

"After years of quick and easy sales, a slowdown in the U.S. housing market has home building executives reconsidering their advertising plans. 'When times are very good, you tend not to put as much effort into advertising and you just trust that it's working,' Ian McCarthy, CEO of Beazer Homes. 'When times are getting a little tougher, as they are today, you put more effort into it,' he added."

"Cancellation rates among U.S. home buyers are running above last quarter's levels as the housing market slows, the chief executive of Toll Brothers Inc. said on Tuesday. 'I think our cancellations are running higher than on the last call,' Robert Toll said at the Reuters Real Estate Summit in New York. Toll cited a perception among buyers, fueled partly by media coverage of the housing market, that homes are a depreciating asset."

And MarketWatch reports on a sector downgrade. "Banc of America Securities analyst Daniel Oppenheim on Wednesday lowered his profit estimates on several home builders with a June survey of real estate agents pointing to further weakness in the housing market. The spring selling season 'ended without ever starting,' he said."