新西蘭女總理上任第一把火：禁止外國人買房
New Zealand is planning to ban foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes in an attempt to tackle a housing crisis by halting a trend among the world’s wealthy to snap up property in the country.
爲了應對住房危機，新西蘭正計劃禁止外國人購買現房，從而遏制住全世界的有錢人在新西蘭搶購房產的勢頭。
The restrictions announced by the prime minister-designate, Jacinda Ardern, are likely to be closely watched by other countries around the world also facing housing shortages and price rises driven by foreign investors. At 37, Ardern has become New Zealand’s youngest leader for 150 years.
新西蘭新當選總理傑辛達•阿德恩公佈的這項購房禁令將會受到世界上其他同樣面臨住房短缺和由外國投資者引起的房價上漲的國家的密切關注。37歲的阿德恩是新西蘭150年來最年輕的領導人。
先來了解一下這位剛剛宣誓就職的女總理吧。
作爲80後的傑辛達•阿德恩是新西蘭自1856年以來最年輕的總理，也是新西蘭歷史上第三位女總理。上月，37歲的新西蘭政治新星傑辛達•阿德恩因所率工黨在議會選舉中失利，一時有成爲“政壇流星”之虞。而不到一個月，阿德恩成功逆襲，率議會第二大黨與其他小黨派談判組閣成功，當選新一任總理。而這距離她出任工黨黨首也才兩個多月，距離她成爲議員不到10年。
今年8月，新西蘭大選在即，而作爲最大反對黨的工黨支持率降到了24％，黨首安德魯•利特爾爲此黯然辭職。阿德恩臨危受命，出任新黨首。
阿德恩接任黨首第二天，新西蘭電視臺早間節目的男主播“爲難”阿德恩：“總理任期內休產假是否會影響工作？”阿德恩用手指着主持人憤怒反擊說，什麼時候生孩子，是女性自己的選擇，不應成爲能夠獲得工作的預設條件。這次發飆成了阿德恩“圈粉”的起點。阿德恩表示，自己要代表新一代的選民，解決他們迫在眉睫的問題，如上學、買房、環境和兒童貧困等。
在新西蘭，阿德恩廣爲人知的另一面是業餘DJ，甚至參與過大型音樂節表演。這些充滿個性的特點顯然增加了阿德恩的“魅力值”。她的“橫空出世”，不僅改變了工黨競選海報的背景色，也改變了選民對這一黨派的看法。工黨支持率迅速躥升，甚至在選前一些民調一度超過國家黨，掀起了一股“傑辛達熱”。
阿德恩剛剛上任就推出了多項樓市調控政策，可見房價在新西蘭也成爲了一個不容樂觀的民生難題。沒辦法，誰讓新西蘭被全球的有錢人給看上了呢？
New Zealand has become a destination for Chinese, Australian and Asian buyers and has gained a reputation as a bolthole for the world’s wealthy – who view it as a safe haven from a potential nuclear conflict, the rise of terrorism and civil unrest.
新西蘭已成爲中國、澳洲和亞洲買家購房的目的地，被稱爲全世界富人的避風港。富人們將新西蘭看作逃離潛在覈衝突、恐怖主義襲擊和國內動亂的避難所。
The country has become a hotspot for wealthy Americans seeking an escape from political upheaval elsewhere, who view it as a stable nation with robust laws and far from potential conflict zones. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and a Facebook board member and donor to Donald Trump’s campaign, is among those to have purchased property in New Zealand.
新西蘭也是美國富人逃離政治動盪的熱門國家，在美國富人看來，新西蘭社會穩定、法律健全又遠離潛在的衝突地帶。全球最大的在線支付平臺貝寶的共同創始人、Facebook的董事會成員、特朗普競選的資助人彼得•泰爾就在新西蘭購置了房產
Global financiers have been increasingly snapping up properties in the country. Speaking at the annual gathering of the world’s elite in Davos, Robert Johnson, the president of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, said: “I know hedge-fund managers all over the world who are buying airstrips and farms in places like New Zealand because they think they need a getaway.”
全球越來越多的金融家也開始在新西蘭搶購房產。美國新經濟思維基金會主席羅伯特•強生在達沃斯年會上發言說：“我知道世界各地的對衝基金經理都在購入新西蘭等國的飛機跑道和農場，因爲他們認爲自己需要一個避風港。”
Reports by Bloomberg and the New Yorker have suggested dozens of Silicon Valley futurists are secretly preparing for doomsday, acquiring boltholes in the country. Jack Ma, the man behind Alibaba, China’s answer to Amazon and its richest man, is also reported to have shown interest in buying a home there.
彭博社和《紐約客》的報道指出，硅谷的未來主義者們正在祕密地爲世界末日做準備，在新西蘭尋找避難之處。據報道，“中國的亞馬遜”阿里巴巴創始人、中國首富馬雲也有興趣在新西蘭買房。
Land sales to foreign buyers are booming in New Zealand, with 465,863 hectares bought in 2016, an almost sixfold increase on the year before. That is the equivalent to 3.2% of farmland in a country of 4.7 million people.
新西蘭面向外國人的地產生意非常興隆，2016年共有46.6萬公頃地賣給了外國人，同比增長六倍。在總人口470萬的新西蘭，賣給外國人的土地相當於該國3.2%的農田面積。
Despite this apparent boom, official statistics show that of the 48,603 property transfers registered by the government in the three months to June, just 3% were buyers with an overseas tax residency.
儘管地產業很興旺，但是官方數據顯示，政府登記的第二季度發生的48603筆房產交易中，只有3%是納稅地在國外的人。
The bulk of those buyers were Chinese mainlanders, followed by Australians. Tax residents of the UK, US and Hong Kong were also among the biggest buyers of property.
這些交易的大部分買家都是中國大陸人，其次是澳大利亞人。英國、美國和香港的納稅居民也是最大的買家。
根據澳新銀行今年2月的估算顯示，新西蘭的房屋短缺已經達到了6萬套，且以40套/每日的速度持續增長。外國買家方面，據當地媒體報道，最先是美國人到新西蘭買房，不過近幾年，美國買家的風頭被中國人蓋過了。
Domestic buyers feel they are losing out. Only a quarter of adults in New Zealand own their own home, compared with half in 1991. Soaring house prices have put home ownership out of reach for many. Hundreds of families in Auckland were found last year to be living in cars, garages and even a shipping container.
國內的購房者開始覺得式微。新西蘭只有四分之一的成年人擁有自己的住房，而1991年有半數成年人有自己的房子。飆升的房價已經讓許多人都買不起房了。去年奧克蘭數百戶家庭被發現居住在汽車、車庫甚至海運集裝箱裏。
According to research from property agents Knight Frank, New Zealand was the 10th fastest growing country in the world in terms of house prices. Prices increased by 10.4% in the year to the end of June, compared with 2.8% in the UK. In Wellington, the capital, they soared by more than 18% in the same period. A report by the Economist this year showed New Zealand had the most unaffordable house prices in the world, with prices in Auckland climbing 75% in the last four years, although the market has cooled in recent months.
根據萊坊房產經紀公司的研究，世界上房價增長最快的國家中，新西蘭位列第十。截至今年六月底，新西蘭房價已上漲10.4%，與此同時，英國房價上漲了2.8%。新西蘭首都惠靈頓同期房價上漲超18%。《經濟學人》雜誌今年的一份報告顯示，新西蘭的房價是全世界最貴的，在過去四年裏，奧克蘭的房價上漲了75%，不過房產市場在過去幾個月已經有所降溫。
The country’s proposed ban on foreign buyers, which would only apply to non-domiciles, comes amid rising support for protectionist policies in developed nations around the world. Trump rode to election victory by pledging more jobs and support for US citizens, while the Brexit vote has been interpreted as a call to prioritise British workers over European migrant labour.
在世界發達國家保護主義盛行的背景下，新西蘭針對外國人的購房禁令將只針對非永久居民。特朗普就是靠着承諾給美國公民帶來更多就業和補助贏得大選的，而英國脫歐公投也可以被理解爲將英國工人利益置於歐洲移民勞工的利益之前。
The steps announced by Ardern form part of a coalition deal unveiled this week by her Labour party and the minority partners forming her government – the Green party and anti-immigration New Zealand First. It follows a campaign pledge by Labour to crack down on “property speculators”.
阿德恩宣佈的這一舉措是本週她領導的工黨和綠黨、新西蘭優先黨組成的政府公佈的聯合協議的一部分。此前工黨在競選中承諾要打擊“房產投機者”。
在臨近就職典禮的幾日，阿德恩在多個公開場合表示：“禁止外國投機者的法案將在今年聖誕節以前推出。”就在10月25日，阿德恩對當地媒體表示，和工黨聯合執政的優先黨、綠黨，在這項計劃上已達成一致，“我們共同的目標和承諾是禁止海外買家購買當地現房。”該政府還計劃收緊移民政策。
Speaking after the announcement of the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes, the leader of NZ First, Winston Peters, said: “There’s going to be a change and a clear signal sent internationally that New Zealand is no longer for sale in the way it has been. And we are happy with that.”
在禁止外國人購買現房的政策公佈後，新西蘭優先黨黨魁溫斯頓•皮特斯說：“以後就會不一樣了，我們已向國際社會發出清晰信號：新西蘭不能再像從前那樣買賣房產了。而我們對此很滿意。”
