Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week for the second week in a row, helped by renewed demand for refinancing, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, was up 4.8 percent in the week ended April 12.
The seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose 5.2 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, gained 3.9 percent.
The refinance share of total mortgage activity was unchanged at 75 percent of applications.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.67 percent, down 1 basis point from the week before.
The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.