The unofficial start of the spring home buying season began with a bang, as mortgage applications jumped more than 15 percent from the previous week and key interest rates hit a seven-year low, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending Feb. 28.

Of all generations, millennials represent the single largest buying pool. Yet, across the industry there is a common belief that millennials aren’t interested in buying homes right now. Most lenders attribute this to affordability, high student debt, the appeal of metropolitan life and less loan availability.

When loan origination volumes begin to drop, lenders must find ways to be more efficient to maintain profitability. Even with the growth of the past decade and the advances in technology tools, origination costs continue to rise, cutting into lenders’ bottom line.

Brian Zitin is Co-Founder and CEO of Reggora, Boston. Reggora is an appraisal technology company that gives mortgage lenders and real estate appraisers two-sided software that streamlines the appraisal process. The firm’s software automates manual processes from automatic order allocation to comprehensive quality control, freeing up time and decreasing costs for both parties.

Planet Home Lending LLC, Meriden, Conn., hired Jim Bopp as vice president of national renovation lending. He will manage Planet’s retail and correspondent renovation loan programs, including FHA 203(k), VA Alterations and conventional loan offerings.

Snapdocs Inc., San Francisco, announced an integration that makes its digital closing platform available through the Ellie Mae Digital Lending Platform.