Tuesday, January 24, 2006

How Orlando Real Estate is Linked to Consumer Confidence

Local consumer confidence is inextricably linked to the Orlando real estate market. The two factors that influence consumer confidence the most are job loss or growth and home prices. In other words, when the Orlando real estate market is strong, property value rises, new jobs are created and consumer confidence increases. But should the Orlando real estate market suffer noticeably or a bubble bursts, consumer confidence undoubtedly drops.

Consumer confidence has a lot to do with how readily people are willing to spend their money. If Orlando real estate prices level off or only rise slightly, local homeowners “may feel less wealthy, even though they will not have actually lost money.” This means that the impact of an Orlando real estate slowdown is almost entirely psychological and not much can be done to rescue confidence.