Mortgage applications increase 1.3 percent last week as rates remain near decade lows

Mortgage applications rise 1.3 percent last week

NEW YORK — Applications for home loans edged up last week as mortgage rates hovered near the lowest level in decades.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says that overall applications rose 1.3 percent from a week earlier. Applications to refinance home loans increased 1.3 percent. Those taken out to purchase homes rose 1.5 percent. The numbers are seasonally adjusted.

Mortgage rates have been at or near record lows since mid-April. Investors have poured money into safer U.S. Treasury bonds over concerns about European debt problems. That has lowered the yield on Treasurys. Mortgage rates tend to track that yield.