HousingWire reports the Gallup Economic Confidence Index (ECI) dropped for the second month in a row, averaging -26 in July after falling from -22 in June. The nation grew more optimistic in the spring as the ECI rose to -17, but even this month’s score is far better than the -42 of July 2011. As for current assessments, 14% of the respondents said the economy is in good shape while 42% rated it as poor. For economic outlook, 36% said the economy is improving and 59% think it is getting worse. MHProNews has learned the numbers are based on a telephone survey of 14,043 respondents July 1-July 31, eighteen years and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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