Mortgage applications rose last week: MBA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as rates for home loans eased from recent highs, according to data published by an industry group on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity climbed 7.5 percent to 453.1 in the week ended August 29. It was the highest level since mid-July, and coincided with a decline in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.39 percent from 6.44 percent in the prior week, the MBA said in a statement.

The 30-year rate, now 0.2 percentage point below that of mid-July, has delayed improvements in affordability as home prices have fallen in recent months, analysts said.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications increased 2.1 percent to 1,059.7 last week. The gauge of loan requests for home purchases rose 10.5 percent to 349.0, the association said.

Indexes measuring applications for Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration loan programs led composite indexes higher. The MBA's government index last week jumped 11.7 percent to 417.4, and stands more than double that of a year earlier.

(Reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by Leslie Adler)