U.S. Mortgage Activity Increases

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday released its weekly report on US home mortgages, showing a rise in activity for the week ending January 28th. The group’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity gained 11.3 percent for the period.

The rise failed to match the decline from the previous week, having fallen 13 percent in the week that included the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. The MBA’s index of refinance applications, also adjusted for seasonal factors, rose 11.7 percent, while the index for purchase loans activity gained 9.5 percent.

The average rate for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage for the week was 4.81 percent, up from 4.80 percent the week prior.