New single family home sales dropped for the fourth straight month in April. High prices and rising mortgage rates triggered the decline, as new residential sales fell 16.6%  from March’s 709,000, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000. It was the biggest month over month slide since 2013, with the sales rate the lowest in two years.

The chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, Robert Dietz, called the plunge “a clear recession warning for the overall economy for the quarters ahead.” “All in, a significant number of prospective home buyers are being priced out of the market,” Dietz wrote Tuesday.

National Association of Realtors existing home sales numbers also declined. Chief economist Lawrence Yun said the decline will likely continue, given current conditions. “Higher home prices and sharply higher mortgage rates have reduced buyer activity,” Yun noted.

Home prices remain high due to diminished supply, with the median home price in April pegged at $450,600, an 19.6% increase over a year ago. The average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage was 5.25%, 2 points higher than its final reading in 2021.

On Wall Street meanwhile, PulteGroup (PHM), the four largest public builders by market capitalization, had dropped between 2.5% and 3.8%.