Consumer confidence rebounded in August, following a sharp decline in July. The index now stands at 101.5 up from 91 in July.
The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is an indicator designed to measure consumer confidence, which is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending. Global consumer confidence is not measured. Country by country analysis indicates huge variance around the globe. In an interconnected global economy, tracking international consumer confidence is a lead indicator of economic trends.
Americans stepped up their purchases of new homes in July, with sales surging in the Northeast. New Home sales rose 5.4% last month according to the Commerce Department. This is believed to be attributed to solid job growth the past 2 years and historic low interest rates.
According to the Commerce Department "new home sales" is defined as an economic indicator that measures sales of newly built homes. Released by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, it includes both quantity and price statistics. It is considered to be a lagging indicator of demand in the market and to affect mortgage rates.
Warmest Regards,
Kevin Aizenshtat
Realtor