Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week on lower demand for both new purchase and refinance loans, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 1.8 percent in the week ended Aug 3.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications fell 1.9 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 1.4 percent.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity held steady at 81.2 percent of applications from the week before.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.76 percent in the week, up 1 basis point from 3.75 percent the week before.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.