U.S. mortgage applications rise in latest week - MBA

[February 04, 2015]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as interest rates fell, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 1.3 percent in the week ended Jan. 30.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose 2.5 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 2.3 percent.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity fell to 71 percent of applications from 72 percent the week before.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.79 percent in the week, the lowest level since May 2013. They fell 4 basis points from 3.83 percent the previous week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Diane Craft)

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