According to The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, demand for mortgage loan applications rose 5.3 percent last week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was up 10.0 percent from the week before, reaching its highest level since December. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.83 percent from 4.98 percent, which lead to a 2.7 percent increase in the Refinance Index. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in a month toward the end of last week. More here.