Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "On Monday, Comstock Homebuilding Cos. said it swung to a quarterly loss of $5.8 million, from profit of $11.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The company said in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 it recorded a non-cash pre-tax charge of $1.8 million as a result of impairments to its real-estate inventory."

"Total quarterly revenue fell to $35.3 million from $78.4 million a year earlier, as net new orders dropped 21%. The company said home-building gross margin for the quarter decreased to 6.8% from 30%."

"Investors are looking to home builder Toll Brothers Inc. to provide an update on the health of the luxury housing market later this week when it reports preliminary quarterly results before the market opens on Tuesday, with a conference call later in the day to discuss its outlook."

"'We expect orders to fall 34% year-over-year in the fourth quarter despite slightly easier comparisons, an anticipated 30% increase in communities and more attractive incentives,' wrote Banc of America Securities analyst Daniel Oppenheim in a research note."

"Real estate investment trust Saxon Capital Inc. said it swung to a third-quarter loss on a higher short-term interest rates, continued price competition and an increase in delinquencies. The company said net interest income, or earnings from interest on deposits and loans, fell to $18 million from $47.3 million in the year-ago period."

"The net mortgage loan portfolio grew to $6.8 billion at September 30, 2006, an increase of 9% from September 30, 2005."

"The factors contributing to the net loss in the third quarter of 2006 were increased short-term interest rates, continued price competition, an increase in delinquencies, as well as a decrease in the 2/3 year part of the forward LIBOR curve, which negatively impacted the Company's derivative valuations."

"Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a nonprime residential mortgage lender, said Monday third-quarter earnings plunged 55 percent as the company booked a lower premium on loans sold and higher provisions for repurchases."

"'Our recent performance has been negatively impacted by fierce pricing competition, ongoing product contraction, anticipated higher delinquencies and losses, and activities associated with the acquisition of Aames Investment Corp.,' the company said."

"Lime Financial Services will hire most of Meritage Mortgage Corp.'s sales staff and some employees in operations as Meritage's parent company, NetBank Inc., exits the nonconforming mortgage business."

"NetBank CEO Steven F. Herbert said the company is 'working aggressively' to refocus on core banking and conforming mortgage competencies. NetBank's nonconforming mortgage operations are expected to cease by year-end."

"Irwin Financial Corporation IFC, a bank holding company focusing on small business and consumer mortgage lending, today announced the Corporation sold substantially all of its conforming, conventional mortgage segment operations, including the majority of the associated mortgage loans and mortgage servicing rights."

"This discontinued segment reported a loss, including disposal costs, during the third quarter of $13.4 million. 'In the home equity segment,' CEO Will Miller said, 'our results were well below our expectations earlier in the quarter, largely due to the effects of clean up calls on the last of the pre-2003 securitizations and the accounting for certain economic hedges.'"

"Senior mortgage banking executives recently delivered dour forecasts for the next year, according to coverage from MortgageDaily.com. The chairmen and CEOs of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and IndyMac predicted rising delinquency and a cooling mortgage market as rates reset."

"'Obviously we're going to have a period where delinquencies and foreclosures are going to exponentially grow,' one of the executives said. 'It's going to be a fairly tough correction,' another added."

"A UBS analyst downgraded Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Cos. amid expectations that the sluggish U.S. housing market will 'weigh significantly' on both companies. Noting that both stocks' prices and earnings expectations have been bucking the broader trends of soft housing data and prospects for 'continued weakness,' UBS analyst Brian Nagel lowered his ratings."

"By Nagel's reckoning, as much as half of the same-store sales at home centers is linked to changes in the macroeconomic environment for housing. 'The housing market in the United States continues to slow more than initially expected,' Nagel said."

"The U.S. housing market will weaken further, but the sharpest decline is over as inventories of unsold homes thin, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday."

"'This is not the bottom, but the worst is behind us,' Greenspan said."

"Greenspan also touched on the potential adjustment in loan costs for home buyers with nontraditional mortgage products. While some individual buyers may feel the pinch as their payments rise, Greenspan said those changes were 'very unlikely to have a macroeconomic effect.'"