NEW YORK (AP) - Applications for mortgages to buy homes rose last week to the highest level since May.
The Mortgage Bankers Association says purchase applications jumped 14.4 percent from the previous week. The increase got an extra lift because the previous week's results included Veterans Day holiday. The survey didn't make an adjustment for the extra day in the latest week.
Applications to refinance slipped 1 percent from a week earlier, while overall applications edged up 2.1 percent.
The rate on 30-year mortgages increased during the week, while the rate on the 15-year loan dipped.
Rates have been at or near their lowest levels in decades since spring as investors put money into safer Treasury bonds. That has lowered their yields, which mortgage rates tend to track.