Mortgage Application Volume Rises

Washington, DC, May 4, 2011 -- Mortgage applications increased 4.0% last week from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Refinance Index increased 6.0% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.3% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1.1% compared with the previous week and was 36.9% lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 62.7% of total applications from 61.6% the previous week. This is the highest refinance share of the month.

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased for the third consecutive week to 4.76% from 4.80%.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.96% from 4.03%.