Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. rose for the first time in three weeks, as interest rates held steady, 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 2.8% in the week ending August 26 to 545.2. That follows a drop of 2.1% to 530.1 in the preceding week.
Applications to refinance a home loan rose 4% for the week, while home purchase applications, which are far less rate-sensitive week to week, increased just 1% last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances was unchanged from the preceding week, holding steady at 3.67%.
"The last time rates were at these levels, the refi index was almost twice as high. At these rate levels, there are borrowers who still stand to benefit, but there are many homeowners who have already taken advantage of refinancing and are not yet incentivized to do it again," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.