Quotes from the Reuters Real Estate Summit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The following are notable quotes about the U.S. commercial and residential real estate markets from executives attending the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit in New York on Wednesday:

JOHN DUGAN, U.S. COMPTROLLER, OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY

"Anybody who looks at our system of four banking regulators, when they come on it anew, wonders whether this is the best way to approach things. I think it is perfectly appropriate and healthy to look at that," he said of a U.S. Treasury Department study on whether to fuse the OCC with sister banking agency, the Office of Thrift Supervision.

"From my vantage point, we believe that as cumbersome as it appears on paper, we work hard to make the system work and we do think it works in practice."

ROBERT TOLL, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, TOLL BROTHERS INC. (TOL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

"I see no reason to expect a change in confidence until probably April '08, when the candidates will fairly well be settled for the presidential election, and we'll start to listen to speeches about how we'll get better," he said of when the sagging U.S. housing market may rebound.

"(My) personal view is that it will be a very quick and strong rebound. We're not into this recession in housing for a long period compared to the other downturns."

"I think there ought to be regulation of subprime. I think there ought to be regulation of prime. I don't think that the economy is best left to its own devices almost ever."

"The excesses that are permitted in the mortgage industry can and perhaps have led us into a dark hole."  Continued...