香港加强楼市降温措施
Hong Kong Dials Up Cooling Measures
香港再次试图打压其飞速上涨的房产市场，这一次的目标是热切的买房人最新追捧的对象，比如酒店客房和停车位。
Hong Kong is again trying to take some air out of its buoyant property market, and this time it is targeting the latest fads among eager buyers, such as hotel rooms and parking spots.
香港政府屡次出手控制房价上涨，仍未能阻止房价飙升。2012年住宅价格同比上涨25%。美联物业(Midland Realty)首席分析师刘嘉辉(Buggle Lau)说，要是以地产价格走势来判断政府迄今为止的举措是否成功，那他们肯定是失败了。
Property values have skyrocketed in the city despite government efforts to control their rise. Residential prices jumped 25% in 2012 from a year earlier. 'If you're judging the success of government measures so far by property-price movement, they've definitely failed,' said Buggle Lau, chief analyst at Midland Realty.
香港去年10月出台政策，针对非香港居民购买住宅的交易加征15%的税。这项政策的目标是阻止多年来涌入香港购买房产的中国内地购房者。这项举措是借鉴了新加坡和澳门不久前推出的税收政策，中国内地投资者同样也推高了这两个地方的房价，令更多本地居民买不起房。
Hong Kong last October imposed a 15% tax on residential purchases by nonresidents. The goal was to deter mainland Chinese, who for years have flocked to Hong Kong to buy property. The effort mirrored similar taxes adopted recently in Singapore and the Chinese territory of Macau, where mainland investors also have helped drive up prices, making it harder for more locals to afford housing.
去年10月的措施推出后，购房者发挥创意，开始投资相关规定没有覆盖的各种房产。刘嘉辉说，出现了很多副作用。
After the October measures, buyers became creative and began investing in assorted properties not included in the rules. 'There have been a lot of side effects,' said Mr. Lau
投资者大肆抢购各种类型的物业，从酒店客房到停车场再到小规模商业地产。举例来说，房地产经纪公司中原地产(Centaline Property Agency)的数据显示，去年12月投资者购买了总价值3.16亿美元的停车位，较10月份增长五倍。停车位由开发商直接销售，或是通过中原地产这样的经纪公司在二级市场销售。
Investors snapped up everything from hotel rooms to parking spaces to small-ticket commercial properties. For example, investors bought up $316 million of parking spots in December, a fivefold increase from the number of spots sold in October, according to real-estate firm Centaline Property Agency. Parking spots are sold directly by developers or by agencies such as Centaline on the secondary market.
上个月底，政府将房产市场降温措施扩大到商业地产交易，这是抑制投机的新举措。包括住宅和商业房产在内的大多数地产交易的印花税上调了一倍，最高达到8.5%。政府还针对商业和工业地产收紧了抵押贷款要求，其中包括停车场。
Late last month, the government expanded property-cooling measures to commercial real-estate deals in a new effort to curb speculation. It doubled the stamp duty on most property transactions, both residential and commercial, to as high as 8.5% in some cases. The government also tightened mortgage requirements for commercial and industrial properties, including car parks.
香港财政司司长曾俊华(John Tsang)介绍政府最新一轮抑制举措时说：市场目前极其活跃。我们希望人们在进入市场之前真正静下心来考虑一下自己在做什么。
'The market is very exuberant right now,' said Financial Secretary John Tsang when introducing the government's latest round of curbs. 'We want people to really want to step back and think about what they're doing before they go into the market.'
市场的活跃在2月初就已经很明显，当时数百名投资者抢购雍澄轩酒店(Apex Horizon Hotel)在香港首批发售的单位，这家酒店是香港富豪李嘉诚控股的开发项目。那次销售让酒店开发商长江实业(Cheung Kong)获得1.8亿美元收入，引发政界人士强烈抗议。政界担心买家试图避开政府的降温措施。
The exuberance was evident earlier in February, when hundreds of investors showed up to buy rooms at the Apex Horizon Hotel, a development controlled by local billionaire Li Ka-shing, in the first batch of sales of that kind for the city. The sale, which netted developer Cheung Kong $180 million, triggered an outcry from politicians who feared buyers were trying to evade the government's cooling measures.
长江实业没有回复记者的置评请求。
Cheung Kong didn't respond to a request for comment.
香港的房地产市场不仅受到来自内地的资金的推动，还受到了香港联系汇率制造成的低利率的推波助澜。据官方数据显示，自2008年以来香港住宅价格上涨了120%，尽管香港实施了更严格的抵押贷款规定并对三年内销售的住宅征收高额赋税。
Hong Kong's property market has been fueled not only by cash from mainland China but by low interest rates resulting from the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the U.S. dollar. Residential prices have risen 120% since 2008, according to official figures, despite tightened mortgage requirements and steep taxes levied on residential properties sold within three years.
美联物业的刘嘉辉说，去年出台的规定确实导致住宅销售量下降。他说，2010年，平均每月二手房交易量约为10,000套，但去年底降至3,000套。尽管如此，政府一直未能成功遏制住宅价格的上涨势头。今年1月香港住宅价格较去年12月上涨了2%。
Last year's rules did cut the volume of residential sales, said Mr. Lau at Midland Realty. In 2010, there was an average of about 10,000 transactions of existing homes a month, but those levels were as low as 3,000 at the end of last year, he said. Still, the administration hasn't succeeded in arresting gains in Hong Kong's residential property prices, which rose 2% in January from December.
政府说，给楼市降温的措施取得了一定的效果，政府指出调控措施似乎开始对非本地居民的购房起到遏制作用。官方数据显示，2012年前九个月，非本地居民住宅购买量占总量的14%。今年1月，这个比例下滑至5%。为努力缓解香港楼市的紧张状况，政府还承诺将致力于增加公屋的供应量，不过批评人士指出，计划中的开发项目要很多年后才能建好。政府也未排除采取更多收紧措施的可能。
The government said its efforts have had some effect, noting that the measures appear to be deterring nonlocal buyers. In the first nine months of 2012, according to official figures, non-locals accounted for 14% of all residential purchases. In January, that number dropped to 5%. To try and ease Hong Kong's housing crunch, the administration also has committed to increasing the city's supply of public housing, though critics note that planned developments won't be available for years. It also hasn't ruled out adopting further tightening measures.
来自内地的Julia Ju最近在香港愉景湾购买了一套公寓。该地区深受外籍人士和外籍家庭的喜爱。她说，鉴于内地人的消费能力，她理解政府为什么需要采取楼市调控措施。尽管如此，她说，政策对那些实际在香港工作和居住的人来说不公平。她说，我有一个内地的同事，她因为非本地居民购房需要缴纳额外的赋税而不能买房，尽管她已经在香港工作了两年。Julia Ju的公寓是在政府试图为楼市降温之前买下的。
Julia Ju, who hails from mainland China and recently bought an apartment in Discovery Bay, a neighborhood popular with expatriates and families, said she understands why the government needs to adopt property curbs, given the spending power of mainland Chinese. Still, she said, the policy isn't fair to those who actually live and work in Hong Kong. 'I have a co-worker from mainland China who cannot buy [because of additional taxes for nonlocal buyers], although she has worked in Hong Kong two years,' said Ms. Ju, who bought her own apartment before the government began trying to cool the market.
澳盛银行研究中心(ANZ Research)高级经济学家杨宇霆说，跟之前的政府调控措施一样，上调商品房印花税的最新举措可能产生意想不到的结果，包括促使一些购房者回归住宅市场。
Raymond Yeung, senior economist at ANZ Research, said that like previous government cooling measures, the latest moves to raise stamp duties on commercial properties might have unintended consequences, including prompting some buyers to return to the residential market.
他说，无论怎样，此举都不太可能使香港房价更趋合理。只要我们事实上施行零利率的政策，房价就不太可能回落。
Either way, he said, the effort isn't likely to make Hong Kong homes any more affordable. 'As long as we have virtually zero interest rates, prices aren't likely to drop.'
华尔街日报
2013-03-07
华尔街日报
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