A new survey released today by Citi
revealed that Boston-area residents are more optimistic about their own
personal finances and local business conditions than the nation as a
whole. In response to current economic concerns, however, Boston-area
residents continue to make dramatic changes in their personal behavior
and financial planning, including 51% who have postponed the purchase of
a major item such as an automobile or other expensive item, 40% who have
taken money out of savings or investments to help pay expenses and
one-third of Boston area residents (33%) are working longer hours to
make ends meet.
Compared to national
survey data released by Citi in September 2009, key findings from
Citi’s Boston survey illustrate:
Forty-eight percent of Boston residents believe that the country’s
economic conditions have a ways to go before hitting bottom, an
assessment not nearly as bleak as the 63% at the national level.
Sixty-five percent of Bostonians expect that local business conditions
will become much or somewhat better over the next 12 months, compared
to 57% nationally who believe business conditions will get better in
their area.
This optimism also is felt at the micro-level, with 68% of Boston
adults optimistic that their own financial situation will improve in
the next year, compared to 65% nationally.
Despite this growing feeling of optimism, Boston residents still
expressed significant concerns about the state of today’s economy. Only
28% of Bostonians rate the economy in their area as excellent or good,
while 72% describe the local economy as only fair or poor; this figure
compares with 22% of national survey participants that rate the economy
as excellent or good.
Nearly three in ten (29%) Boston area residents cite the cost of health
care as the element of America’s economy that worries them most today,
with 22% expressing greater concern with the amount they pay for
necessities such as food and gasoline.
“At Citi, we are committed to understanding our customers’ needs and
community concerns,” said Citi Chief Executive Officer Vikram
Pandit. “With these insights, we will work with community leaders,
elected officials and organizations throughout Massachusetts and the
Greater Boston area to identify how we can together best help provide
assistance and relieve the economic pressures individuals and families
are facing.”
Mr. Pandit is in the Greater Boston area today to meet with Citi
employees and local community groups that Citi partners with in the
area. In addition, he is speaking with economics students at Wellesley
College. Lisa
Caputo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Women
& Co. and Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and
Corporate Affairs at Citi, accompanied Mr. Pandit.
Confidence Building around Boston Housing
Looking specifically at the housing market, Boston area residents are
more likely to say that homes will increase in value rather than go
down, with nearly two in three homeowners reporting their belief that
they could sell their house today for more than they paid for it. Three
in ten (31%) of Bostonians believe the value of homes in their area will
go up in the next year, with 16% saying values will go down and 50%
stating they will remain the same. By a margin of 64% to 17%, Boston
area residents believe that if they put their homes on the market today,
they would be able to sell them for more than they paid, rather than
less. Another 17% believe that they could sell their home for about the
same price.
Boston Women Worry Most About the Cost of Healthcare and Everyday
Purchases
In previous research, Citi had found that the majority of women
nationwide (65 percent) had permanently changed their spending and
saving habits in response to the recession, but 58 percent were
optimistic overall that business conditions would improve.
Looking specifically at the financial circumstances of women in the
area, Boston women say they worry most about the cost of healthcare
(31%) and necessities (25%), such as food and gasoline, and one in five
women say when they can’t sleep at night they are worried about paying
their bills and losing their jobs. In addition, one-third of women say
they are working longer hours to make ends meet.
Although they remain optimistic about future business conditions in the
local market (68% are optimistic), Boston area women continue to scale
back on their spending habits with 72% reporting that they have cut back
on everyday expenses, compared to 66% of Boston men. Moreover, Boston
women are more likely than men to say now is a “poor” or “only fair”
time to purchase a big ticket item (61% of women compared to 50% of
men), and more than half of Boston women (54%) have taken action in the
past few months to postpone a major purchase because of the economy.
“Women are a critical barometer for the U.S. economy because they drive
the majority of household spending decisions and, increasingly, manage
how families invest,” saidMs. Caputo. “As we continue to serve
our Boston area customers, surveys like these provide valuable tools in
helping us gain deeper insight about our clients’ needs and aspirations.”
Survey Methodology
Hart Research Associates conducted the telephone survey of 500 adults in
the Boston area from September 12 to 15, 2009. The Random Digit Dialed
(RDD) survey has an overall statistical margin of sampling error of plus
or minus 4.4 percentage points. Hart conducted the national survey of
2,005 adults nationally between September 1-5, 2009. It has a sampling
error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. The survey also included a
sample of respondents who use only a mobile telephone.
About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately
200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140
countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers,
corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of
financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit,
corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth
management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com
or www.citi.com.
Citi
Liz Fogarty, 212-559-0486
