Mortgage applications jump

The number of people applying for a mortgage jumped sharply last week, ending three weeks of declines.

And, the number of people applying for a mortgage to buy a house rose more than the number of existing homeowners applying to refinance a mortgage, a good sign home sales are picking up.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says mortgage applications rose 14.8 percent last week. Refinance applications rose 15 percent while purchase applications rose 18 percent.

Refinancing still accounts for the…