Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as interest rates declined, 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, rose 2.3 percent in the week ended April 17.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose 0.6 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, rose 5.0 percent to its highest level since June 2013.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity fell to 56 percent of applications, its lowest level since October, from 58 percent the week before.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.83 percent in the week, the lowest level since January. They were down 4 basis points from 3.87 percent the previous week.

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