The reviving Northeast Florida economy is coming up for air after the brutal recession, but one remnant of the downturn is still holding back the recovery — the high number of homeowners underwater on their mortgages.
In the Jacksonville area, about 45 percent of property owners with mortgages owe more than the homes are worth, according to CoreLogic, a California company that tracks the real estate industry.
That is double the rate for the nation. And it casts a long shadow on other positive economic trends.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians dropped one point in February to 76 from January, according to a University of Florida survey. The modest decline followed two months of rising levels of confidence in the economy.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians surged in January, up seven points to 77 from a revised December reading of 70, marking a steady rise in optimism, according to a University of Florida survey.
The Florida Price Level Index (FPLI), established by the Legislature as the basis for the District Cost Differential (DCD) in the Florida Education Finance Program, is used to represent the costs of hiring equally qualified personnel across school districts.
This brief includes a county FPLI comparison table of past years and a review of the FPLI methodology.
Fourteen of Florida's 22 markets, including Ocala, added new jobs over the past year, state figures show. Nearly half of the jobs went to three areas: Tampa-St. Petersburg added 26,900 jobs; Miami picked up 18,700; and Jacksonville increased by 8,300 jobs.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians rose three points to 69 in December, reflecting a cautious optimism in the economy, according to a recent University of Florida survey. Though the latest figure is only one point below the level set in December 2010, it also marks the highest rank in the past nine months.
The index used by UF researchers in the survey is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.
Along with the oft-pronounced, desperately wished for death of the suburbs, no demographic narrative thrills the mainstream news media more than the decline of the Sun Belt, the country’s southern rim extending from the Carolinas to California. Since the housing bubble collapse in 2007, commentators have heralded “the end of the Sun Belt boom.”
The recession may be officially over, but its impact continues to reverberate as the nation experiences its most sluggish population growth since the 1940s.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The consumer confidence index among Floridians remained at 65 in November, a ranking that matches a revised mark set in October and is only two points higher than the record low of 59 set in June 2008.
The index used by University of Florida researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.
The November survey reveals a mixture of positive and negative perceptions.
