After rising sharply for several weeks, mortgage interest rates pulled back slightly last week, but not enough to revive mortgage demand.

Total mortgage application volume fell 2.9% last week, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 7.21% from 7.31%, with points falling to 0.69 from 0.73 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

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“Mortgage applications declined to the lowest level since December 1996, despite a drop in mortgage rates,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “Rates remained more than a full percentage point higher than a year ago, despite mixed data on the health of the economy and signs of a cooling job market.”

Applications to refinance a home loan — which are most sensitive to weekly interest rate changes — fell 5%, compared with the previous week, and were 30% lower than the same week one year ago.

The vast majority of borrowers today have loans with rates below 4%. Even with high rates of home equity, borrowers are more likely to take out a second loan to pull cash out, rather than lose their low rate through a cash-out refinance.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 2% for the week and were 28% lower than the same week one year ago.

“Prospective buyers remain on the sidelines due to low housing inventory and elevated mortgage rates,” Kan added.