LARKSPUR, Calif.—Existing home sales fell 7.1% in February to their lowest level since November of 2015, and single-family homes dropped 7.2%, reflecting economic and financial uncertainty among consumers, reports one analyst.
The Money Anxiety Index, which monitors consumers' financial stress and anxiety, has been nearly flat at 62.8 since the beginning of the year following a substantial improvement of 8.1 points during 2015, said financial behavior scientist Dan Geller, who assembles the Index—which measures consumers' level of financial worry and stress.
“The stagnation in the level of money anxiety among consumers indicates that people are concerned about the economy, and are reducing their spending to conserve money. In another sign of persistent money anxiety, February retail sales dropped 0.1% and January was revised down to a 0.4% decline,” Geller said.
Research conducted by Money Anxiety shows that consumers tend to make instinctive financial-decision to reduce spending when faced with economic or financial uncertainty.
“If such economic uncertainty will persist, consumers are likely to lower spending even farther, which will result in an economic slowdown in the U.S. because consumer consumption makes up about 70% of GDP of the U.S.,” Geller said.