New-home sales rise, driven by demand in South

Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in October, largely driven by an increase in the South. Purchases of new singlefamily homes increased 7.5% to an annualized 632,000 pace last month after falling in September, government data showed Wednesday. Sales in the South rebounded after a sharp retreat a month earlier when Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida and parts of Georgia and South Carolina. Even with the surprising pickup in sales, buyer demand has rapidly evaporated this year amid the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to tame inflation. Mortgage rates, which topped 7% by the end of October,