Finance

Mortgage Applications Shoot Upward 

Reflecting a roiling stock market and an associated drop in mortgage rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today that mortgage applications jumped 7.3 percent last week on a seasonally-adjusted basis, compared to one week earlier. Applications increased 15.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Refinancing activity drove the lion’s share of the increase, according to the MBA, increasing 15 percent from the previous week. Lower mortgage rates, driven by recent woes in U.S. stocks, have heated up prepayment speeds in recent weeks.