New home sales were annualised at 627,000 in June, well short of the 650,000 figure expected. Coming after yesterday’s disappointing existing home sales figure, which dropped to 3.93 million from 4.04 million in May, it heightens concerns about the property market, and by extension, housing construction. The weakness has come as a bit of a surprise given the recent uptick in mortgage applications for home purchase (see chart below), but set against weakening demand fundamentals, it certainly isn’t a shock. Affordability is stretched with a 50% increase in prices, meaning the typical mortgage taken out for a home ... (full story)