{"id":22,"date":"2026-09-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.room-vu.com\/lesjamesrealestate-com\/2026\/09\/17\/us-confidence-hits-seven-mo-low\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:00:00","slug":"us-confidence-hits-seven-mo-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/17\/us-confidence-hits-seven-mo-low\/","title":{"rendered":"US Confidence Hits Seven-Mo Low"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-zmyer\">\n<div class=\"video-frame-zmyer\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/www.roomvu.com\/agent\/embed\/les-james\/consumer-confidence-just-hit-a-seven-month-low-heres-whats-driving-it-3c3d\"\n                frameborder=\"0\"\n                allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\"\n                allowfullscreen><br \/>\n        <\/iframe>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"video-description-zmyer\">\n<p>As we move through mid-Q3, the national mood around the economy is shifting. While many Americans are feeling more positive about current conditions\u2014the present-conditions index climbed nearly 7 points to 121\u2014there\u2019s a growing sense of caution about what\u2019s ahead. The expectations index dropped about 6 points to 68, dipping below the threshold that often signals recession risk. Early in Q3, we saw 23,000 fewer jobs and unemployment near 4%, not so much because of increased hiring, but largely as people left the workforce.<\/p>\n<p>What does this mean for those considering real estate moves here in St. Augustine and Palm Coast? Even as confidence softens, homebuying expectations only eased slightly, and in fact, continued to rise in mid-Q3. About 61% still anticipate interest rates climbing higher. With federal policymakers keeping rates steady and the markets expecting little immediate change, buyers are likely to face higher borrowing costs through year-end.<\/p>\n<p>My approach\u2014shaped by years of negotiation and client service at the highest level\u2014is to turn market uncertainty into opportunity. Whether you\u2019re looking to build a legacy with a coastal property, find your dream home, or invest in this unique Florida market, understanding these trends is key to making confident, informed decisions. The right guidance makes all the difference when the market feels uncertain.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we move through mid-Q3, the national mood around the economy is shifting. While many Americans are feeling more positive about current conditions\u2014the present-conditions index climbed nearly 7 points to 121\u2014there\u2019s a growing sense of caution about what\u2019s ahead. The expectations index dropped about 6 points to 68, dipping below the threshold that often signals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesjamesrealestate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}