美国科技行业造成了高成本的住房

AS IT IS 2016-05-04 US Tech Industry Blamed for High Cost of Housing 美国科技行业造成了高成本的住房

Housing costs are rising in northern California because of a small supply of rental¹ apartments and growing demand for them by technology workers.

A strong economy and the technology industry have been blamed for a housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The industry pays high wages to many of its workers. Because the area is home to many high-tech² companies, the workers are willing to pay more for housing.

The average cost for a one-bedroom rental apartment in San Francisco is nearly $3,590 a month, according to the website Zumper. Prices are similar in many nearby communities.

That rent is even higher than New York City, the second-most costly³ market in the United States. Zumper reported this month that the average rent in New York for a one-bedroom apartment was $3,340.

California renters can expect to pay a lot to live in places like San Jose, which is about 80 kilometers from downtown San Francisco. Across the bay in Oakland, some investors⁴ are buying up buildings and then turning them into high-priced apartments.

While rental costs go higher, evictions from rental housing is also a problem. Activists⁶ say some landlords have forced people to move from rental units so they can be offered to tech workers, who will pay a higher price.

Erin McElroy is with a group called the Anti-Eviction⁵ Mapping Project.

“Because landlords know that people can pay $3,000 or $4,000 a month, who work in these [technology] industries, affordable⁷ housing is being neglected and lost,” she says.

The mapping project keeps records of evictions as longtime residents are forced out of rental properties.

Some groups and San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods are looking for ways to control the rising cost of rental housing.

San Francisco officials and activists agreed to keep rental housing costs under control in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood.

The International Hotel was home to many Philippine and Chinese-American residents. The old hotel was torn down in 1981, but rebuilt in 2005. Local Roman Catholic officials worked with community groups to create affordable housing in the area.

Some local governments are reacting, too. Oakland stopped rate increases for three months on its older housing in April. San Francisco activists want a similar law to help renters who are struggling with rental payments.

Tourism is another reason for the high real estate prices. San Francisco is a popular stop for both U.S. and overseas travelers. This puts a high demand for hotel, apartments, single-family homes and office space.

After San Francisco and New York, the top of most expensive U.S. cities for renters are Boston and Washington, D.C., says the Zumper website.

The world’s most expensive city for housing is Singapore, according to a report by the Economist⁸ Intelligence Unit.

Words in This Story

apartment – n. a rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

realtors – n. people who act as agents for the sale and purchase of buildings and land

eviction – n. the act of forcing someone to leave a place

real estate – n.  property consisting of buildings and land

landlord – n.  a person who owns a house or apartment and rents it to other people

1 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

2 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。