Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "U.S. homebuilders slashed prices at the fastest pace in 36 years in September and managed to boost sales to the highest level in three months, the government said Thursday. However, sales in June, July and August were revised down by total of 67,000 annualized, continuing a pattern of downward revisions to the originally reported data."

"Median sales prices dropped 9.7% in the past year to $217,100, the lowest price in two years. It's the largest percentage decline in median prices since December 1970. Median prices for existing single-family homes are down 2.5% in the past year, the largest decline ever recorded."

"Home builders have piled on incentives, including vacations and new cars, to sell homes. Such incentives are not subtracted from the sales price reported to the government. Sales are reported when a contract is signed, not at the closing of the sale. Home builders have reported a large increase in cancellations in recent months."

"The number of homes that are completed and waiting to be sold rose by 6,000 to 157,000 in September, today's report showed. Mortgage lenders, builders and makers of construction materials are feeling the pinch. Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, said this week that its mortgage- banking profit dropped 40 percent."

"The U.S. housing market has 'already had a hard landing,' Countrywide's CEO Angelo Mozilo said on a conference call."

"Pulte Homes Inc. said Wednesday its quarterly profit fell 52 percent and new orders dropped 39 percent as the U.S. housing market continues its sharp decline. The nation's No. 2 home builder also issued a forecast which was well below what Wall Street had expected."

"Part of the downfall was attributed to $87 million of write-down in land and options on land that the company won't exercise. 'It's a surprise the degree and magnitude is not only large but obviously escalating,' said Raymond James analyst Rick Murray. 'It's indicative of what's going on in the housing market now, that things are continuing to escalate in a bad way,' Murray said."

"New orders fell 39 percent to 7,299, with a value of $2.4 billion, down 40 percent. New orders in the Southeast fell the hardest, down about 50 percent. 'The operating landscape for new home sales remained challenging during the third quarter, as high inventory levels, affordability issues, elevated cancellation rates and a general lack of buyer confidence continued to weigh on new home demand,' Richard Dugas Jr., Pulte's CEO."

"MI Homes Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell as the homebuilder delivered fewer homes and wrote down the value of its inventory, while also abandoning previous land deals amid a continuing decline in the housing market."

"New contracts during the quarter totaled 571, down from 1,163 homes a year ago, reflecting higher cancellation rates, an excess supply of new and existing homes, and weak demand."

"The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged yesterday for a third consecutive meeting. Analysts said there was nothing in the Fed's explanation of its decision to shake their view that the central bank will remain on hold for perhaps as long as a year."

"'There isn't anybody on the Fed considering lowering rates, and the Fed knows if you were to raise rates now you could turn what is a reasonably orderly decline in housing into a rout,' said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed board member."

"Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday the U.S. economy was pulling away from the shoals of a sharp housing-sector downturn. 'Most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us,' Greenspan said."

"'There are early signs of stabilization,' Greenspan said of the U.S. housing market, although he added: 'It's not over.'"