Mortgage demand rises, down sharply from a year ago

— -- Mortgage loan applications rose a seasonally adjusted 9.5% last week from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday, but on an unadjusted basis, the index lost 13.6% and was down 24.4% compared with Labor Day week a year ago.

The seasonal adjustment accounts for the Labor Day holiday.

The Refinance Index, also adjusted for the holiday, increased 15.4% from the previous week. It fell without the holiday adjustment, down 7.7%% from the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6.4% from one week earlier.

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.06% from 6.39%.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.73% from 5.96%.

The average interest rate for one-year ARMs dropped to 7.00% from 7.11%.

The rates do not include points.

The survey covers approximately half of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.