U.S. mortgage applications rose for the second straight week, driven by growing demand for refinancing and home purchase loans, Reuters reported.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted mortgage application index rose 3.4 percent in the week ended Aug. 10 to 678.7, its highest level since the middle of May.

The rising applications figures come despite reports pointing to a crisis of confidence in the mortgage industry.

Potential borrowers may be filing multiple applications as more mortgages get rejected, possibly distorting the total applications figures, analysts said.

“Recent upheavals in the mortgage industry may be temporarily increasing the level of retail application activity at the large lenders that participate in the MBA survey rather than representing a system-wide increase,” Doug Duncan, the MBA’s chief economist, said in a statement.

The MBA says its mortgage application survey covers approximately half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations.