Interest-rate fears, boom prices dampen desire for home-buying

ZJDX

Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
) r- X8 r1 w9 j& i" M* iPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 2007
! E, M+ A: D. ]
EDMONTON - Most Albertans think this is a bad time to buy a house -- but a good time to buy major household items.
8 A  F% ^0 I& ]( c0 d
Leger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.
. r, Z( a5 t9 i
) T. h  o5 _0 A" nResponses 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.

Is this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?
6 d: z# A* ]$ s
$ h5 |  ~8 Q% H6 s  r7 U9 \5 VNo, not according to the sample's composite score of 71, showing significant doubt.

- W. n: f' {  P3 s( N/ S( RLeger'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."
: i+ A" G* S5 c
7 ]* }, r8 g& Y- M: ?# \' {When asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.

A question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.
- i4 K; L: _, ^' ], M3 W
; F4 K( l+ [; C) m+ k+ jThe 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.
; i' K0 k1 A) J4 C& f
% l+ I2 ~, T+ @' Z4 C% hThe prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower.

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.

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."

' J8 k3 u, U( g. o8 Z( `9 TThe business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.
" c1 K9 b7 @- d/ c) W! P
5 f! M$ x6 s; Y9 g2 j  f" }Barry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.
  H: t/ N' `4 w2 _6 K
% y9 X. {8 @* S, n4 d' I' d+ t* k"If you're going to make a large spend, ask yourself what one or two or three more points would cost," he suggested.

有事您说话

有事您说话

thanks

kensu

chmwl

怕怕，怕怕

周天

yj151

常华

能否翻译出来再发表？

forestcloud

hbc

CANDYMAN

There are certainly bad buys in good markets!

埃德蒙顿

晕啊~~我看晕了~~~
) H7 n* ]* x& X' J             能否翻译出来再发表？