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

[September 17, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as both purchase and refinancing applications jumped, 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 7.9 percent in the week ended Sept. 12.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications climbed 10.3 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, rose 4.8 percent.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.36 percent in the week, the highest level since June. They rose 9 basis points from 4.27 percent the week before.

"Application volume rebounded coming out of the Labor Day holiday, even as rates increased to their highest level in the last few months," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist.

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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