Long-term mortgage rates near 7% mark

Long-term mortgage rates neared the 7% mark, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey.

30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.88% as of April 11, higher than 6.82% a week ago and 6.27% in the year-ago period.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.16%, compared to 6.06% in the previous week and 5.54% a year ago.

"While newly released inflation data from March continues to show a trend of very little movement, the financial market's reaction paints a far different economic picture," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said.

"It's clear that while the trend in inflation data has been close to flat for nearly a year, the narrative is much less clear and resembles the unrealized expectations of a recession from a year ago," Khater said.

Meanwhile, mortgage applications rose on the back of strong refinancing activities.