The volume of applications for U.S. mortgages jumped 112.1 percent last week, due to a big drop in interest rates, an industry group said.The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, rose from 404.4 to 857.7 in the week ending Nov. 28, a week shortened by the Thanksgiving holiday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a release Wednesday.The Refinance Index ...

Reported incidents of mortgage fraud in the U.S. increased by 45 percent on fewer loan applications in the second quarter of 2008 from a year ago, according to a new report released today by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a LexisNexis service.