“Strong incoming economic and inflation data has caused the market to re-evaluate the path of monetary policy, leading to higher mortgage rates.”

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, commenting on a report that showed mortgage rates had climbed for the third week in a row, inching closer to 7 percent. Mortgage rates have been making smaller moves over the past two months, after coming down from last year’s high, 7.79 percent, reached in October. Read the CNN article, “Mortgage Rates Rise for the Third Straight Week.”