美国国家公共电台 NPR 德克萨斯州奥斯汀的租客正面临着“竞价战”

Renters in some areas, such as Austin, Texas, find themselves in bidding wars

Transcript¹

A shortage of housing in some parts of the country has led to a rental² squeeze. Much like some homebuyers, prospective³ renters are finding themselves having to offer more than the listing price.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Add housing to the list of things that got more expensive last year. And that's trickled⁴ down to the rental market. Prospective renters in some areas such as Austin, Texas, have found themselves in bidding wars. Now, that's something that's unheard of just a few years ago. The real estate listing company Zillow predicts that Austin will soon be the least affordable⁵ city outside of California, of course. Here's Audrey McGlinchy of member station KUT with the story.

AUDREY MCGLINCHY, BYLINE⁶: This past summer, Elisa Regulski was getting desperate. The lease on her apartment was days away from ending. And after putting in half a dozen applications on rental homes, the 29-year-old still didn't have a place to move to. It started affecting her mental health.

ELISA REGULSKI: I just wasn't sleeping very well. If you were to ask my friends, they would say that was pretty much all I was talking about for that month.

MCGLINCHY: Then Regulski got advice typically doled⁷ out to would-be homebuyers in Austin's booming for-sale housing market. Offer to pay more than the asking price.

REGULSKI: Our realtor was basically saying that the trends were going that people were bidding maybe 200 to $300 over rent a month, and that was shocking.

MCGLINCHY: Regulski, who was looking to rent with her fiancé, found a house for $1,800 a month. Frantic⁸ to lock it down, they offered to pay $200 more a month. In exchange, they got a year-long lease.

REGULSKI: Oof, it feels like a scam. I mean, it feels like it's just artificially inflating⁹ the worth of the market. And I don't know how it gets back down to what it's worth.

MCGLINCHY: Down is not the direction housing prices in Austin will likely go. Since the start of 2021, the average rent in Austin has risen nearly 20% to $1,500 a month.

(SOUNDBITE OF NAIL GUN FIRING)

MCGLINCHY: Just north of downtown, workers nail together the frame of a new house. Cody Carr is the builder overseeing construction. He says in the past year, it's been hard to build as many homes as he normally would. The problem? Local regulations, labor¹⁰ shortages and supply chain issues.

CODY CARR: We've gotten notice today on this house that the windows might not be here for another three weeks. And we're going to be ready for them in about a week.

MCGLINCHY: In the meantime, that's one less home for sale. Experts say that bottleneck¹¹ is partly why housing prices are skyrocketing. By one count, Austin added 33,000 more jobs than homes in the past decade. Carr says the demand is so high, some buyers are looking up building permits and showing up to his construction sites.

CARR: They're giving their card to people working on site, asking, hey, when will this be done? How much is it going to be? How can we lock it in today?

MCGLINCHY: That pressure is being felt across living rooms in Austin. Rosario Valencia has tried to make hers tranquil¹², filling it with potted plants.

ROSARIO VALENCIA: Those are my babies.

MCGLINCHY: They're beautiful.

VALENCIA: No, they are not.

MCGLINCHY: (Laughter).

Valencia lives with her sister. The two grew up in Colombia and immigrated¹³ to the States decades ago. They both earn hourly pay at a rehab facility. But stretching the money they make became harder when the rent on their two-bedroom apartment jumped by $300 a month this fall.

VALENCIA: I told the lady, I'm sorry, I got to move because I don't have money to pay that rent.

MCGLINCHY: But when Valencia looked at other apartments in the area, she couldn't find anything cheaper. So for now, she says, they'll stay put, spending nearly half of their monthly income on rent.

For NPR News, I'm Audrey McGlinchy in Austin.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEAUTIFUL KILLING MACHINE'S "DIGITAL PROMISES")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

4 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

8 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

9 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

12 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

13 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句