Mortgage Rates Drop, Applications Soar

A sharp drop in Treasury rates early in the August 28 week, tied to the global stock market rout, triggered a surge of mortgage applications. The refinance index jumped 17 percent in the week while the purchase index rose 4.0 percent. The latter is up 25 percent year-on-year. Rates backed up later in the week to end unchanged for the 10-year yield at 4.08 percent. The gain in the purchase index is another strong positive for housing strength going into year end.