Consumers in Florida continue to surprise me. I had expected consumer confidence to remain the same or decline this month, but consumers felt differently.

251

The slowdown in housing will have an effect on other areas of the economy, such as sales of furniture, appliances and home improvement stores.

250

Consumers continue to be optimistic about the economy here in Florida. The employment situation here in Florida is better than it has been in decades, at least in terms of people having jobs. The stock market had a pretty good run in January, too, ending near 11,000.

200

We had been expecting a decline in confidence for the past couple of months, and it finally came in February.

166

There are already signs of a slowdown in real estate, particularly in Florida markets that have been bid up due to speculative buying.

159

We expect a decline in consumer confidence as several factors come to bear on the consumer.

119

Homeowners that were expecting quick turnover in their property will no doubt be forced to hold on to it longer. This slowdown in housing will have an effect on other areas of the economy, such as sales of furniture, appliances and home improvement stores.

118

Ninety-five is historically a relatively high number.

94

I think a lot of it will be tied to housing. Gas prices are ticking back up, and they are higher than they were the same time last year.

80