More Americans fearful of finances

Charlie Wise, senior vice president and head of global research and consulting at TransUnion, attributes the growing divergence to economic uncertainty.

“We really emphasized the consumer levels of financial optimism, pessimism,” Wise told HousingWire. “It was interesting for us to see that there was that uptick in pessimism that we’ve seen — the highest level since we started asking about that question in 2021.”

The new TransUnion survey found that 27% of consumers report being pessimistic about their household finances over the next 12 months — a 6-point increase from the Q4 2024 study.

Fifty-five percent remain optimistic, a figure that has held steady despite economic turbulence.

Uncertainty and tariffs fuel anxiety

Wise said the persistence of varied…