Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. rose for the first time in four weeks as interest rates moved lower, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by a seasonally adjusted 7.1% in the week ending August 5 to 564.0. That follows a drop of 3.5% to 526.8 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched down to 3.65% from 3.67% in the preceding week.
The drop in interest rates also spurred a 10% increase in mortgage refinance activity from the previous week, while home purchase applications increased 2.6% last week.
"With lingering concerns over a weak second quarter reading of U.S. GDP growth, along with continuing anxiety over global growth and financial markets, rates edged lower for the second week in a row, " said Joel Kan, associate vice president of industry surveys and forecasts at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.