1 hour, 53 minutes ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said on Wednesday.The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended August 22 increased 0.5 percent to 421.6. Mortgage applications during the previous week had fallen to their slowest pace since December 2000.
While last week's increase was small, the report offers a glimmer of hope for the U.S. housing market, currently suffering the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Significantly tighter lending standards and an unwieldy supply of homes for sale are just some of the factors weighing on the U.S. housing market.
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