Mortgage markets reeled Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its January 26-27, 2010 meeting. Mortgage rates in Manhattan are now creeping up to their highest levels since the start of the year. The Fed Minutes is a follow-up document, delivered 3 weeks after an official FOMC meeting. It’s a companion piece to the post-meeting press release, detailing the debates and discussions that shaped our central bankers’ policy decisions. The Minutes also offer a terrific look into the Fed’s collective mind, and they make it clear that, on Wednesday, Wall Street didn’t like what it saw. Specifically, the report disclosed that:

The Federal Housing Authority's home loan program has been a rare bit of good news for prospective homeowners over the rocky past couple of years, and has doubtless helped put many New Yorkers into NYC condos. With the FHA, like everyone and everything else in real estate, currently feeling a pinch, the federal agency recently revised its standards upwards somewhat. The adjustments aren't too onerous, though, and it's likely that the FHA's loans will continue to make buying a condominium or apartment in Manhattan (or anywhere else) that much easier than it otherwise would be. At the blog Bigger Pockets, Winston Westbrook runs down the FHA's tightened standards. In short, they look like this:

Even by the standards of luxury condominiums on the Upper East Side, Casa 74, the 30-story tower at 255 East 74th Street is a strikingly luxurious development. Designed and marketed as an "ultra-luxury" residence, Casa 74 offers an ambitious combination of amenity-laden living and deluxe condominiums, with a price tag to match. In short, it looked like the sort of building that would have a hard time during the current economic downturn. But it hasn't turned out that way, and Casa 74 has unexpectedly bucked a down real estate market, and is reportedly now 90 percent sold.