U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase for First Time in Six Weeks

It's still not purchase, but mostly refinancing.

“We had a huge pickup in volume in the last week when the rates touched an all-time new low,” Leif Thomsen, chief executive officer of Mortgage Master, a Walpole, Massachusetts- based lender, said before the report. “There’s a ton of refinancing going on, so, in simple math, we’re freeing up $3 billion to $4 billion a month for the American consumer who can go and spend.”

The share of applicants seeking to refinance a loan rose to 83.1 percent from 78.9 percent.

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