Weekly mortgage applications up

News Excerpt:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for home mortgages increased last week, boosted by a surge in purchasing and refinancing activity even as mortgage rates rose, an industry group said Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity increased 17.4 percent to 887, adding to the previous week's 6.5 percent gain.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications climbed 25.6 percent to 2967.4 after rising 10.3 percent the prior week.

The MBA's purchase index, a gauge of loan requests for home purchases, rose 10.4 percent to 529.3, a record high, after climbing 3.6 percent the previous week.

"This week there was a combination of record-setting purchase activity as well as a substantial pickup in refinance applications, with the refinance index at its highest level since April 2004," Michael Fratantoni, senior director of single-family research and economics at the MBA, said in a press release.

According to the MBA, fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.62 percent last week, excluding fees, up 7 basis points from 5.55 percent the previous week. Rates were lower than in early April, when the fixed 30-year mortgage rate was at 5.91 percent.

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