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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
0 g3 ^: V U& r: ~7 o5 NPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 2007
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8 N, I* j9 t oEDMONTON - 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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2 Q0 x5 l- |0 h/ E" `9 XLeger 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.4 ?& ? M! I2 \+ \! c7 Q
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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.! B. |! R1 |$ f. i+ m/ g
) J; X0 N' R. `' c7 E3 ALeger'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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$ p0 Y. `& E; T* B, zWhen asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.9 z: V/ Y$ S" \
0 ~ t7 H2 e# k8 E* zA 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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. w2 N& h, h5 @. w$ V# H0 M; ]The 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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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.7 N+ t; K3 k5 A! P
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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."+ C5 Q8 d; y* Y+ d5 @; i. h" N# H
% z) q) V8 r9 q% S6 c+ T9 X) q. kThe business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.
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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~~~
