Consumers upbeat on economy

Both in Florida, and around the nation, people are showing more confidence in the economy. Two separate surveys released Tuesday, 7/31, pointed towards this. A University of Florida survey shows a 3 point rise in consumer confidence (in Florida) in June, and 9 points higher than a year ago.  The housing market's strength was a contributing factor. The median price of a single family home rose to $151,000 in June, vs $147,000 in May. The Conference Board ( an independent research group headquartered in New York ) reported in their national survey, a consumer confidence index of 65.9 in July vs. 62.7 in June, the first rise in 5 months. However, even with these increases, confidence remains at historical low levels Conference Board offical Lynn Franco observed.