Average borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, as well as for one-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, rose by 0.11 percentage point last week to 5.72 percent.
That both short- and long-term mortgage rates are the same is atypical considering the behavior of the Treasury notes that are a peg for home loan rates, according to Stone & McCarthy Research Associates.
"We think this reflects a disproportionate impact of tighter lending standards on the ARMs market," writes Nancy Vanden Houten of Stone & McCarthy.
Both purchase and refinance application requests slipped during the week, the mortgage bankers group said.
The MBA's purchase index declined 0.3 percent to 403.9 while its refinancing applications gauge fell 3.0 percent to 4,901.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Demand for loans is higher using a four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility.
Few analysts, however, expect a housing market revival soon. Still standing in the way is an ominous supply of unsold homes.
Lenders are making it much more difficult for borrowers without pristine credit to get loans as defaults and foreclosures mount.