VOA双语新闻：3、香港房地产价格飞涨（在线收听）

香港房地产价格飞涨

In Hong Kong, one of the world’s most expensive property markets, housing prices have doubled since 2009.

香港是全球最贵的房地产市场之一。自2009年以来，房价已经上涨了一倍。

Chris Parker, who has lived here for seven years says housing costs are a cause for worry.

克里斯·帕克已经在此居住了七年。房价现在令他十分担忧。

“This is where I want to be now. I certainly don’t want to go back to the UK," he said. "So I don’t see me ever leaving Hong Kong per se, but I do feel that there will come a point where I am struggling to find a place to live either here or in some other place. I might have to make a change in location.”

他说，“我现在就想住在这里。我不想回到英国去。所以我不会离开香港，但我觉得以后我不管是住在这儿还是另外找个地方都会很困难。可能不得不换地方。”

Last year, home prices surged a record 13 percent. A 100 square-meter apartment in the center of town has an average cost of $2.3 million. Earlier this year, the government took measures to cool the market for fear that an influx of mainland Chinese buyers may be inflating prices - creating a bubble.

房价去年涨了百分之十三，创下最高纪录。中环一套100平方米的房子的平均市价已经到了二百三十万美元。今年早些时候，政府采取了措施来降低房价，担心内地买家的进入会哄抬物价，制造泡沫。

Buyers of properties valued up to $902,000 must make larger down payments, and mortgage rules for second-home purchases have been tightened. Those measures and a cooling economy in China have some property analysts predicting a crash in Hong Kong real estate, but others anticipate just a market slow down.

对于90万2千美元以下的房地产的买家，他们需要付更高金额的首付，买第二套房子的抵押贷款的规则现在也已经开始收紧。由于这些措施以及中国大陆经济放缓，一些不动产专家预测房地产价格会暴跌。但其他人预计，市场只是增速放缓而已。

Joseph Tsang Hon-Ping, managing director of real estate investment company Jones Lang LaSalle, says the government's measures have helped prevent a bubble, in part because buyers can't overload on debt.

曾焕平（Joseph Tsang Hon-Ping）是香港房地产投资公司仲量联行的董事总经理。他认为，政府的措施从一定程度上防止了泡沫的产生，其中一部分原因是买家不可以申请过多的贷款。

“When people talk about bubbles they always talk about 1997, that was 15 or 16 years ago. At the time the interest rate was roughly around 13 percent," he noted. "Today we’re talking about 2 percent. That’s a big difference. The second thing is the loan-to-mortgage ratio. The amount that you can borrow for mortgages is down to 40 or 50 percent, meaning that it’s a very low debt situation, Hong Kong.”

他说：“当人们谈起泡沫时，总会提到1997年，那已经是十五六年前的事了。那个时候利息大概是百分之十三。但今天只有百分之二。这其中有着显著差别。第二点就是贷款抵押比。现在不动产的抵押贷款低到百分之四五十，对香港来说是非常低的。”

But the high prices are inspiring some people to invest abroad. Swire Properties, a Hong Kong property developer, recently offered Hong Kong buyers properties it has built in Miami, Florida.

但高昂的售价已经开始刺激一部分人到国外投资。香港地产开发商太古地产最近向消费者推出了他们位于佛罗里达州迈阿密的开发项目。

“South Beach [in Miami] is the number one beach in America, and it has over 50 skyscrapers currently being built today," explained Maile Aguila, of Swire Properties. "It also houses one of the largest art deco collections and sport franchises such as the Miami Heat, the Dolphins, the Marlins and the Panthers.”

太古地产销售副总裁阿维拉说，“迈阿密的南海滩是美国第一海滩，拥有超过50座正在建设中的摩天大厦。这里还有众多艺术藏品和像热火队、海豚队这样的娱乐设施。”

Many of the Miami apartments are on sale for less than $1 million, and, for Hong Kong buyers, that is a bargain.

许多迈阿密的公寓售价都低于100万美元。对于香港的买家来说非常实惠。