New home sales plunge a lot more than expected

New home sales in the US fell much more than expected in April.

Sales slumped 11.4% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000, the Census Bureau said in its monthly report.

Economists had forecast that sales of new single-family homes fell 1.8% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, according to Bloomberg.

Sales in March, which were revised higher, rose for a third-straight month and lifting the pace at the start of the busy spring selling season towards the highs set in 2016.

Most of the sales, however, were not made in the affordable end of the market where homes cost less than $200,000. Even though there's demand from buyers, a shortage of affordable homes, and prices rising faster than wage growth, is keeping many would-be shoppers out of the market.

In April, sales in the West fell by 26.3%, the most since October 2010. Sales did not rise in any other region.

More to come ...