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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
a: ]2 t" B2 D# a% u- |. y# cPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 20079 j1 v- i T T+ D6 K: L# Z
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EDMONTON - Most Albertans think this is a bad time to buy a house -- but a good time to buy major household items.
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% z y, r; v- z* h6 sLeger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.
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Responses were compiled on a 200-point scale, with scores above 100 indicating optimism that conditions are good or will improve, and lower scores revealing pessimism that conditions are bad or will worsen.
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Is this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?
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No, not according to the sample's composite score of 71, showing significant doubt.- t* K0 M) I- ]9 F* C3 w, a \2 c
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Leger's report noted "the relatively pessimistic sentiment regarding interest rates, combined with the fact that the housing market in Alberta has boomed over the last two years."
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When asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.. n/ B4 K/ ?2 n3 d
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A question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.
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The sample scored 161 -- overwhelmingly affirmative -- when asked whether this is a good time to buy major household items "reflecting the fact that many Albertans are experiencing unprecedented levels of disposable income," the report said.
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& ~2 B) f3 z4 S0 T) u. oThe prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower.
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7 x* f! Y' U2 y1 H5 nA related online survey of 420 Alberta business leaders similarly found optimism about fiscal conditions, current and future business conditions, and future unemployment -- all pushed by "the hot Alberta economy," the Leger report said.
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5 k+ a+ N& p" V# y1 {Among those several measures, it found that fiscal expectations were the least positive, "which may be attributed in part to the fact that Alberta has a new premier in place, creating uncertainty in relation to fiscal conditions if compared to the previous Klein administration."! t1 [0 d+ }3 d- a3 r; d
/ \1 X- X' U2 _. YThe business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.* l9 J% S, x8 S5 J) W% b
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Barry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.
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"If you're going to make a large spend, ask yourself what one or two or three more points would cost," he suggested. |
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发表于 2007-4-3 06:55
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发表于 2007-4-4 14:25
晕啊~~我看晕了~~~
