Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said rising defaults in the subprime mortgage market and tightening loan standards will bring a 'continued period of weakness' to housing, making it difficult to forecast growth in the next year."

"'We have considerable difficulty,' Greenspan said Thursday in a speech. 'We have never been through anything like this. I can't say how it is going to come out.'"

"Greenspan said the housing market has been hurt by a 'huge surge in subprime borrowing' in the past few years, with imprudent loans made on the basis of rising home prices, and a similar surge in 'Alt-A' mortgages."

"'We are sitting in a market that all of a sudden prices are flattening out,' Greenspan said. 'You can immediately see a backing up of problems.'"

"His outlook has been more pessimistic than that of current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said in a speech Thursday that the housing slowdown won't have a broader impact."

"'We do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or financial system,' Bernanke said in a speech."

From CNBC. "In a speech today at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke detailed the many ways in which financial regulators, including the Federal Reserve and Congress, could act in order to prevent a recurrence of the subprime mortgage crises."

"My question, even with steps 1 and 2, is: why is all this a new idea? I mean, I thought all this stuff was in place already; you know, like the federal government might have already had some rules in place to keep banks and lenders from ripping me off."

"Chairman Bernanke did teach me a few new terms in today’s speech: TILA, HOEPA and Regulation Z. 'The purpose of Regulation Z is to ensure that lenders provide borrowers or potential borrowers with clear, accurate and timely information about the terms and conditions f loans,' Bernanke said."

"I'm still asking the same question. If all this stuff is there already, then why is housing in the mess it's in now?"

"'The Chairman misspoke when he said that the Federal Reserve is 'authorized' to write rules by the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). In fact, the law requires the Federal Reserve to write rules to protect home borrowers from unfair or deceptive practices,' claims a 'Statement of Senator Dodd in Reaction to Bernanke Speech."

"'I hope that Chairman Bernanke is right when he says that a slumping housing market will not affect the broader economy, but I would not bet the house on it,' (said) Senator Chuck Schumer."

From Bloomberg. "OceanFirst Financial Corp., a New Jersey-based banking company, will shut its subprime mortgage business and said the unit's president resigned after defaults were hidden from top management."

"The bank blamed loans it made to borrowers who weren't required to document their income, according to a presentation for investors included in a federal regulatory filing today. The mortgages covered as much as 100 percent of a property's value."

"OceanFirst said some of the loans made in 2006 quickly soured, and unnamed officials at the Columbia Home Loans unit 'concealed' the defaults until February 2007. New subprime loans were halted by the bank in March, and OceanFirst has taken $21.6 million in charges."

The Herald News. "Nationwide, reported cases of mortgage fraud increased by 30 percent between 2005 and 2006, according to data released on Wednesday. But in New Jersey, reported fraud incidences more than doubled in the first part of 2006. The state recorded the highest increase in the country."

"New Jersey and other states enacted anti-predatory lending laws in the last several years to crack down on mortgage fraud. But New Jersey's law only covers refinancing, not purchase loans. And at the request of loan rating companies, lawmakers tossed a statute ensuring a loan was in a borrower's best interest, Wolfe said."

"For unscrupulous loan officers, risky mortgages translated into quick cash through high fees and interest rates. And even mortgage bankers admit that greed was a motivator."

"'It's bank robbery without a gun,' said Corey Carlisle, a senior director at the national Mortgage Bankers Association. 'Unless there's a real threat of enforcement, they think they can get away with it, because they can.'"

The Grand Rapids Press. "Foreclosures declined locally and across Michigan from March to April, but Grand Rapids real estate agents said the market has yet to hit rock bottom."

"Real estate agent Gail Brinks said 66 homes went to sheriff's sale this week in Kent County alone. Sometimes, there can be as many as 100 per week, she said."

"Veteran real estate agent John Schlundt Bodien believes conditions are likely to worsen before they get better. 'We can't continue to have fraudulent appraisers,' he said. 'People are offering loans for property with the wrong values.'"

"Willis Blackshear combs through Ohio mortgage filings, looking for time bombs to defuse."

"The Montgomery County official, who oversees real estate filings in Dayton, is searching for loans with balloon payments, or interest rates that may soon rise to unaffordable levels. He has found more than 3,100 in Montgomery, which had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state last year."

"'It's crazy,' Blackshear said. 'I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was this bad.'"

The Business Journal. "Real estate appraisers face a dramatic increase in their licensing requirements beginning next year...adopted by a national foundation authorized by Congress to establish such rules."

"But, the updated criteria may, or may not, be a hedge against repeats of the current real-estate mortgage lending meltdown in which some appraisers have played both witting and unwitting roles."