Mortgage Rates Are Falling — and Coronavirus Is the Reason Why by Ian Salisbury More Americans are applying for new mortgages than at any time in almost seven years … and a big reason for the surge is the coronavirus that has gripped China and sparked fears of a worldwide pandemic. That may seem far-fetched, but it highlights the amazing inter-connectedness of the global economy in 2020, when an economic disruption in one part of the world can quickly ripple across nations.