Mortgage applications rebound

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage applications ended their five-week decline last week, according to the latest report by the Mortgage Bankers Association, helped by a decline in interest rates.

The industry group's seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications rose 3.6 percent to 653.3 in the week ended April 20, from 630.6 one week earlier.

The four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility in the weekly figures, eased 0.7 percent.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 3.7 percent to 411, while the refinancing applications index climbed to 2081.6 from 2008.4 the previous week.

Mortgage applications have slipped in recent weeks, hurt by the recent crisis in the subprime mortgage sector, which has fueled concerns that lenders may clamp down on loans to borrowers with weak credit.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.13 percent, down from 6.22 the previous week.

Fixed 15-year mortgage rates fell to 5.82 percent from 5.92 the previous week. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.79 percent, down from 5.89.

The ARM share of activity increased to 18.3 percent of total applications from 18.1 percent the week before.

The MBA's survey covers about 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage loans. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.