U.S. mortgage applications rose for a second consecutive week as demand for home purchase loans outweighed slower refinancing activity, an industry trade group's figures showed Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended April 27 increased 0.6% to 657.2.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.14%, up 0.01 percentage point from the previous week. Interest rates, however, were significantly below year-ago levels of 6.57%.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 4.0% to 427.3, its highest level since the week ended Jan. 12 when it stood at 439.7, but the index was below its year-ago level of 433.3. The purchase index is considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales.
The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications decreased 3.2% to 2,015.8.