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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal! s* Z& Q! o0 G: b( |9 Y. X
Published: Tuesday, April 03, 2007/ N5 z" V0 f O3 b- \+ H
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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.
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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., I) A+ n- E# n9 Z6 S2 Y
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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.7 X! ~ |( G6 W4 Z1 O Z
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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.0 G* @/ W8 U o6 P
1 ]& o% P* }/ L3 V; QA question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.0 U8 Q4 ^/ P4 U5 l6 X
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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.3 G* z5 G) [1 l$ c! L; \/ N( ~' j1 a+ N
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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.; B5 _) ^* j- w& |' }; o* Q& N
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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.& s, s5 w5 p6 a8 m
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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."# u6 Z* G6 \2 H' l) X# l
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The business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.4 ^% t3 o4 g2 N+ X0 C- e
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Barry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.
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" l* U; X# R5 ]5 \; J"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~~~
