Consumer Confidence in Florida hit at post-recession high this month. The monthly survey out of the University of Florida asks residents things like: Is now a good time to buy major household items? And will you be better off a year from now?
Chris McCarty runs the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at UF. He attributes the confidence bump to two main things: a relatively improving stock market, and a seemingly recovering housing market.
"People really weren't sure what their wealth was. So they weren't comfortable spending. So having some idea what that house is worth and whether or not you're accruing equity in it, that goes a long way towards people feeling good about spending," said McCarty.
He said people see their wealth through two basic lenses: how much their house is worth and how well their 401K is doing.
When the stock and housing markets started to free fall in 2008 -- Floridians had the rug pulled from under them. McCarty said now that we're finally seeing some stabilization of housing prices and some improvement on Wall Street -- Floridians are feeling better about parting with their precious dollars.