Consumer Confidence Rises in May

CF Funding is pleased to share that consumer confidence has risen in May to a score of 83.0. The Consumer Confidence Index, provided by the Conference Board, had decreased in April to 81.7. The index is now at its second-highest reading since 2008, with March of this year slightly higher at a score of 83.9.

The lowest score seen in the Consumer Confidence Index was 25.3 in February of 2009. Consumer confidence has risen significantly since then, but is not yet at its peak  pre-recession levels. In 1985, the index was at a score of 100. Consumer confidence in regards to present-day conditions improved in May, with those stating business conditions as “bad” declining from 24.8 to 24.1 percent. Those who believe jobs are “plentiful” rose about 1 percent from 13.0 to 14.1, and those who believe jobs are “hard to get” decreased from 32.8 to 32.3 percent.

Consumer expectations increased in May, with those expecting business conditions to improve (over the next 6 months) increasing from 17.2 to 17.5 percent. Those expecting business conditions to worsen decreased from 10.5 to 10.2 percent. Confidence in the labor market improved slightly, with those expecting more jobs increasing from 14.7 to 15.4 percent, and those expecting their incomes to grow increasing from 16.8 to 18.3 percent. According to Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, “Consumers assessed current conditions, in particular the labor market, more favorably. Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy, jobs, and personal finances were also more upbeat. In fact, the percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to grow over the next six months is the highest since December 2007 (20.2 percent).”

Home prices rose slowly in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index released this week. The index for March revealed a 12.4 percent increase in home prices in comparison to February’s 12.9 percent. Home price gains were high in Chicago, with a year-over-year gain of 11.5 percent. Price gains were also high in Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, and New York. Las Vegas had one of the highest annual returns at about 21 percent. Only two cities in the index have set record highs since the housing crisis: Dallas, TX and Denver, CO. CF Funding is happy to be a part of the growing housing industry in these cities as the lender is licensed in both Texas and Colorado.

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