The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 0.4 percent in the week ended April 3.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications fell 3.3 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, rose 6.8 percent to its highest level since July 2013.
The refinance share of total mortgage activity fell to 57 percent of applications, its lowest level since October 2014 from 60 percent the week before.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.86 percent in the week, down 3 basis points from 3.89 percent the previous week.
The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.