Homebuilders are confronting more bad news. The government said construction of new homes dropped 10.6 percent in October, to the lowest level since April. Applications for building permits, a sign of future building, fell 4 percent to the lowest annual rate since May.

Meanwhile, fewer people applied for mortgage loans last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its measure of mortgage loan application volume fell 2.5 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis, from a week earlier, even though the average interest rate on mortgages dropped.

All of this puts another strain on builders struggling to cope with the downturn in housing. Shares of most homebuilders were mixed Wednesday.

In trading for the day, Toll Brothers fell 18 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $20.65. Beazer Homes USA slipped 16 cents to $5.00.

Pulte Homes jumped 4.6 percent to $10.04 after a Citi analyst said the current price of its shares didn’t reflect its earnings potential.