Dive summary:

• One data point that supports belief in a housing recovery is the increase in applications for residential mortgages, a figure that the Mortgage Bankers Association says was up 4.8% last week from the previous seven days.
• Refinance applications, which the bankers track separately, also rose for the week, up 5% in the portion of the business that makes up about 75% of the home-mortgage business.
• Mortgage rates were down, too, generally one or two basis points except for the 30-year, fixed-rate, FHA-backed rate, which dropped from 3.43% to 3.37%.

From the article:

The seasonally adjusted purchase index followed the trend as well, rising 4% from one week earlier and marking its highest level since May 2010. ...