Unfortunately for home buyers, mortgage rates are sharply higher in October, with the 30-year rate averaging 6.92% as of Oct. 23 -- marking a fourth-straight weekly rise. Though it's too late to tell, new home sales will likely take a hit after surging last month thanks to lower rates. More specifically, sales of newly built homes jumped 4.1% to a higher-than-expected annual rate of 738,000 in September -- the fastest pace since May 2023. With this backdrop in mind, we're checking in on two homebuilding sto ...