What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Auctions? Related graphs? Builder incentives? A slowing market? "Year-end figures show the number of single-family homes sold in Southampton Town dropped about 25 percent. At least one insider, Judi Desiderio of Town & Country Real Estate in East Hampton, was willing to say last year wasn’t just a 'slump ... it was bad.' From August 2005 until December 2006, sales hit an all-time low, she said. The largest segment of house sales, the $1 million to $3.5 million price range, was also the segment hardest hit."

Price reductions? "Wisconsin weathered the national housing downturn of 2006, but it came at a price. The market's peak eroded, with Ozaukee County's median price sinking to $225,000 from $244,700 in the same quarter a year earlier. Washington County dipped to $198,200 from $212,500. Up north, Sawyer County plunged from $203,600 to $146,700."

"'Prices on a lot of homes were inflated, and for a long time, sellers wouldn't budge,' said Randy Schmit, president of Schmit Realty Inc. in Port Washington, of the market in Ozaukee and Washington counties. 'Now they've budged.'"

Mortgage fraud? "The story of this Iowan's home refinancing was told to us by Iowa Assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan. The woman was a so-called 'subprime' borrower. The loan officer at this company made up a home-based day care, 'Debbie's Little Dolls',' Madigan said, even though Debbie had never even worked in child care. The lender made up the company name and years she had worked there, filled out the paperwork and showed up at Debbie's house for her to sign the document."

"When Debbie asked the lender whether it was OK to do this, the lender replied that companies did it 'all the time,' Madigan said."

"Last year, more than 40 percent of subprime loans in Iowa were based on stated income."

Or legislation? "A measure that would make it a crime to coerce a home appraiser or falsify a real-estate appraisal gained traction in the state Senate on Tuesday. The bill would make pressuring an appraiser or falsifying an appraisal a serious misdemeanor, with repeat offenses treated as felonies."

"Appraisers who falsify their work risk losing their licenses and face fines under current rules, said Geoff Hier, a spokesman with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs. Arvada mortgage broker Jim Spray said he was initially concerned the bill would target only mortgage professionals. But he was assured the bill will cover real-estate agents, as well as buyers and sellers."

Signs of speculation? "Mini-Cassia Economic Development Commission Executive Director Bob Shepard said the commission is expecting to see 500 new jobs in the area between now and July. According to Idaho Commerce and Labor, the Mini-Cassia unemployment rate for December 2006 was 3.8 percent, down from 4.9 percent the previous year."

"'There are more spec homes in the area than ever before,' Shepard said."