Mortgage Applications Increase

Mortgage applications rose for a second consecutive week, driven by increased demand for home purchase loans as interest rates remained near a four-year high, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended July 7 increased 1.0% to 566.8 from the previous week.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.81%, up 0.01 percentage point. Interest rates were just 0.05 percentage point below a four-year high reached two weeks prior.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase mortgage index rose 2.6% to 425.0. Even so, the index stood well below its year-ago level of 489.0.

The purchase index is considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales.