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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
! @8 f8 L1 L4 SPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 20076 Z4 g. \5 V. n, Z3 E. R
' b0 g3 V: ^. j2 HEDMONTON - Most Albertans think this is a bad time to buy a house -- but a good time to buy major household items.& _" z. r6 Z) ?# P3 A
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Leger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.8 `9 E7 I1 k5 f( c
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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.
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4 J8 ?/ Y3 h9 t" XLeger'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."/ ~( a$ R4 }% k
4 A: `3 s5 c% W' t3 L' ?When asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.
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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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The prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower./ j: Q7 O9 t) n0 i8 R( [
+ N6 |7 }% |9 J) T2 Y7 z/ ~3 i% @A 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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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."
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The business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.5 M+ Y+ \$ j6 U( j
- W& S$ N4 u2 e3 nBarry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.6 i: b) ?1 M- s% \8 H
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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~~~
