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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
+ \/ l. Y! P1 t8 f* |. D3 uPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 20079 r& \+ ]6 u% Q; L# T* e' l( ?
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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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Leger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.0 a4 f' A3 ]2 v5 ^3 z& z* m
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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.- T, U( Q+ K+ u9 W
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Is this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?
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0 E- G# e& F* INo, not according to the sample's composite score of 71, showing significant doubt.5 t d! T" Q+ w# y. f T
% @! F' z% y3 a9 x+ S' J, \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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# `$ a9 Q. R6 UWhen asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.
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! f* A6 e& e9 D( k, o1 s* {/ sA question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.
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4 @7 B8 l+ R( h; u1 o; ~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., t- r( V# `3 E$ W" R' J
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The prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower.$ P9 s/ M) A, m7 A3 ]# Z
/ X, T: a! F* VA 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 F$ [) {) i$ U. i# M# U" TAmong 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."
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The business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.+ e6 |2 }+ ]5 e$ Q9 U- Z
/ a4 u4 I. a2 N$ B/ x& ^. r- {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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狗仔卡
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~~~
