Low Consumer Confidence, Low Orlando Real Estate Sales

The Orlando real estate market may see some troubling times ahead if consumer confidence, which is at a 12-year low, doesn’t pick up soon. The consumer confidence index has remained at a discouraging 78 because of high gas prices and increasing interest rates.

Floridians’ squeezed wallets are likely to affect Christmas spending, and are also expected to cause a decrease in Orlando real estate sales. The steadily rising interest rates will also let some air out of the Orlando real estate bubble.

The decrease in consumer optimism is also making many homeowners use their Orlando real estate as an investment strategy. People are increasingly less willing “to fund spending with home equity loans.”