Investor Optimism Falls on Housing Concerns

Optimism about U.S. financial markets fell this month to the lowest in nine months because of growing concerns about the housing market, according to a monthly poll of individual investors by brokerage UBS.

The UBS/Gallup index of investor optimism slipped to 53, the lowest since November, from 55 in July, UBS said in a report. The index was 93 in January.

Pessimism about the housing market rose this month, the survey found, with 70% of investors saying conditions in the residential real estate market were getting worse, up from 63% in June.

“The drop in confidence in the real estate market reflects the economic data for that sector and suggests that investors are feeling the pinch in their local markets,” said Anne Briglia, a fixed-income strategist at UBS Wealth Management Research.

High energy prices and geopolitical concerns also were cited as major worries of investors.

The survey of 802 randomly selected investors with total savings and investments of at least $10,000 was conducted by UBS and the Gallup Organization from Aug. 1 to Aug. 17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.