Mortgage applications bounced last week: MBA

Applications for home mortgages rose last week, recouping some of the steep decline a week before as demand for both purchases and refinancing perked up, 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 4.9 percent in the week ended Oct 21.

The index had tumbled nearly 15 percent the week before.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications gained 4.4 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases was up 6.4 percent.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity eased to 77.3 percent of applications from 77.6 percent. Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.33 percent, unchanged from the previous week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Diane Craft)