Freddie Mac’s weekly report said that the 30-year rate fell to 4.87% for the week ended Thursday, the lowest recorded since May 2010.  According to the mortgage backer, last weeks rates stood at 4.94%.

And right now, at this very moment we find the average 30-year fixed rate loan slipped  to 5.22% from 5.25% from the previous week.  The 15 year fixed rate also fell, according to Bankrate.com to 4.6% from 4.64% the week before.

The low mortgage rates helped mortgage applications rise by a whopping 16.4% last week!

For investors that have analyzed their market properly, and are seeing it bottom out, NOW is the time to lock in these phenomenal rates.    They aren’t expected to be around for too long, and even a 0.5% increase in the mortgage rate will cut thousands off your profits over the long term on any property that you’re cashflowing.

During the first nine months of 2010, the value of commercial property investments closed and under contract in Manhattan totaled $9.4 billion, up 168% from the $3.5 billion of investment transactions completed in all of 2009, the third quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield shows.
 
In Midtown, closed property sales, excluding properties in contract, totaled $6.3 billion, up 103.5% from the $3.1 billion completed last year. In Midtown South, closed property sales totaled $1.1 billion, up 370.2 % from the $235 million completed last year. And in Downtown, closed property sales totaled $611 million, up 213.3% from the $195 million completed last year.
 
‘The increase in investment activity year to date is significant for the market overall, despite the fact that last year set an extremely low benchmark,’ said Joseph Harbert, Cushman & Wakefield’s chief operating officer for the New York Metro Region.

Investors have noticed that Manhattan is a primary investment target and very profitable.

The median reduction amount was $19,165, or 7.25% of the listing price and the heaviest discounts are in Florida. Miami sellers have cut prices by 12% on average, the highest discounts of any market. Double digit discounts are also found in Jacksonville and Orlando.

Apparently the hot summer selling season didn’t kick in this year.
According to the National Association of Realtors some 28% of brokers have worked with at least one international client, up from 23% a year ago. Among those, 18% had completed at least one sale, compared with 12% in 2009.
 
Many tell real estate agents that they would normally invest in the stock market but see property has a better medium to long term bet.

Partnering with international real estate investors is a great way to find private money in this market.

1/381 American Homes received at least one foreclosure filing.  That’s a total of 338,836 homes.
The state of Nevada had the highest number of foreclosure filings.

The top ten states that have foreclosure filings listed are: Nevada, Florida, Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, and Hawaii.

“Consumers are still committed to owning a home, but are showing increased cautiousness, regardless of whether they rent, own their homes outright or have a mortgage. They are rebalancing their attitudes toward housing and homeownership by adopting a more realistic, long-term approach, and are less willing to take risks. This focus on sustainable housing is better for the economy, better for the housing market and better for America’s families.” – Doug Duncan, Vice President and Chief Economist, Fannie Mae

 With the FDIC closing more banks over the past 6 weeks, and even though the Obama Administration is pushing banks to lend to consumer’s again, this could mean one of two things. 

The first, that buyers surged forward in the final weeks of summer to get into new homes and prepare the kids to start at a new school.  
Secondly, it could also point to the sign that it’s harder for existing homeowners in the current economic crunch to refinance properties that have dropped in value this year.   Right now, it’s too early to tell which way this will end up.

 “It’s Night and Day from a year, year and a half ago,” Buffet Said.  “I know Wells Fargo, they would love to have $50 billion more of loans now.  Go in and talk to the banker.”

Chapter 13 of the Bankrupcy Code is available for an individual with income whose debt does not exceed a specific amount. ABI Executive director – Samuel Gerdano said “While monthly filings are volitile, consumer bankcruptcies are still the highest they have been since Congress overhauled the bankrupcy law in 2005.”