Mumbai, Oct. 16 -- Mortgage applications for house purchase in the U.S. decreased for a third week in a row, survey results from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Wednesday.

The market composite index, which measures the house purchase mortgage loan application volume, dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent in the week ended October 10 following a 4.7 percent decline in the previous week, results of the MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey revealed.

The refinance index fell 1 percent after an 8 percent slump in the previous week, the MBA survey showed. The purchase index decreased 3 percent following a 1 percent drop in the previous week.

The refinance share of mortgage activity rose to 53.6 percent of total applications f...