Weekly mortgage applications in the United States increased in the week ending Aug. 22, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported a 0.5% week-over-week rise in applications.

In the previous week, applications also fell by 1.5%.

The portion of fixed-rate mortgages rose 0.7% following the previous 2.3% decline, while those opting for variable rates fell by 2.6% after the previous week's 7.9% increase.

Compared to last year, the market composite index fell 31.2%.

The average loan size was $216.9k, compared to previous week's $219.2k.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down to 6.44% from 6.47%.

By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Nancy Girgis