Tag Archives: Confidence

Signs of expanding employment lifted the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, according to a release issued Friday.

After taking a hit from January's payroll tax hike, consumer confidence recovered somewhat in February, according to The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index. The overall index climbed more than 10 points in February, settling at 69.6 from January's 58.4. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said February's increase reflects the fading "shock effect" from January's fiscal cliff uncertainty and the expiration of payroll tax cuts.

Led by a sharp drop in the South, builder confidence slipped in February to 46--the lowest level since November--the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Tuesday. Economists had expected the Housing Market Index (HMI), a measure of confidence, would improve to 48 from January's reading of 47. Nationally, two of the three index components--current single-family sales and buyer traffic--declined, while the assessment of sales for the next six months edged up.

Capital Economics recently explored concerns that particular states are seeing "unsustainable, investor-fueled" increases.

Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index declined for the third straight month in January, the company reported. The index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future spending, fell to 3.87 from a previous reading of 3.93. Patricia Buckley, director of economic policy and analysis at Deloitte and author of the monthly index, explained the decrease is "primarily due to slowing increases of new home prices," though gradual improvements in initial unemployment claims and real wages may reverse the downward trend in the future.

Consumers are showing increased confidence in home sales and a greater sense of job security, according to the results of Fannie Mae's most recent National Housing Survey. January's findings show 41 percent of respondents believe home prices will go up in the next year, a decline of 2 percentage points from December's high. However, the share who believe prices will fall also dropped, returning to a survey low of 10 percent. The average 12-month home price change expectation in January was 2.4 percent.

A new poll from the Consumer Reports National Research Center (CRNRC) shows consumer confidence is off to a sluggish start in 2013.

Younger generations continue to hold a more favorable view of homeownership than their elders, according to Prudential Real Estate's end-of-year Outlook Survey. The report shows homeownership remains important to 96 percent of Americans, with 77 percent of respondents ages 25-34 and 78 percent ages 35-44 agreeing it is "very important." Those percentages fall off somewhat for older generations: 73 percent for the 45-54 crowd and 72 percent for those ages 55-64.

Consumer confidence picked up somewhat in January, but the recent payroll tax hike put a ceiling on any major gains.

Consumer confidence took another dive in January as Americans saw their paychecks shrink, The Conference Board reported Tuesday. The research firm's Consumer Confidence Index--based on a survey conducted by Nielsen--fell to 58.6 in January, down from 66.7 at the end of 2012. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said the drop stems from consumers' "paycheck shock" after seeing how the payroll tax increase has affected their bank accounts.