2022年经济学人 炙手可热的房地产（2）

The trend has also spread to Europe.

这一趋势也蔓延到了欧洲。

Investors¹ such as Aviva and Legal & General are building thousands of rental² homes across Britain, which now has more than 73,000 “build to rent” properties.

英杰华集团和英国法通保险公司等投资者正在英国各地建造数千套租赁住房，目前英国有超过7.3万套“为租而建”的房产。

Institutional investors are also gobbling up property in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordic markets, which have higher shares of renters than other rich countries.

机构投资者也在大举买入德国、爱尔兰、荷兰和北欧市场的房地产，这些市场的租赁人比例高于其他富裕国家。

What’s behind the explosive growth?

这种爆炸性增长背后的原因是什么？

One explanation is that ageing millennials offer a growing market.

一种解释是，老龄化的千禧一代提供了一个不断增长的市场。

As they approach their late 30s and early 40s—a sweet spot for landlords—many want better schools for their children or space for pets, or finally have enough money to dump their housemates.

当他们快到40岁左右（成为房东的最佳年龄）时，许多人希望让孩子上更好的学校，或者为宠物提供空间，或者终于有足够的钱来摆脱合租。

In America, population growth in this age category will nearly double over the next five years.

在美国，这一年龄段的人口增长将在未来五年内增长近一倍。

Ageing baby-boomers are also renting in higher numbers.

年纪渐长的婴儿潮一代中也有更多的人租房。

In England, the proportion of those aged³ 55 to 64 who are renting has almost doubled since 2011.

在英格兰，55岁至64岁的租房人口比例自2011年以来几乎翻了一番。

Declining housing affordability⁴ helps.

住房负担能力的下降起到了帮助作用。

Those unable to buy homes have little choice but to rent, meaning landlords are confident of their ability to find and keep new tenants⁵, especially for entry-level homes.

那些买不起房的人别无选择，只能租房，因此房东有信心能够找到并留住新的租户，特别是最低层次住房的租户。

In America, at least 420,000 starter homes were built each year in the 1970s.

20世纪70年代时，美国每年至少建造42万套首购屋。

Last year, just 93,000 were.

而去年只有9.3万套。

Thus rents continue to climb.

因此，租金继续攀升。

Across the country, those for family homes rose by more than 13% in June compared with a year earlier.

全美6月份家庭住宅的租金同比上涨了13%以上。

In Orlando, they were up by 23%.

奥兰多的租金上涨了23%。

In Miami, by more than a third.

迈阿密上涨了三分之一以上。

Despite rising rents, Wall Street landlords are not immune to economic uncertainty⁶.

尽管租金不断上涨，华尔街的房东依旧受到了经济不确定性的影响。

Inflation means the cost of renovating⁷ and maintaining homes is rising.

通货膨胀导致翻新和维护房屋的成本不断上升。

Invitation Homes says the amount it spent on these things rose by nearly 8% in the second quarter of this year.

Invitation Homes称，今年第二季度，该公司在这些方面的支出增长了近8%。

Construction costs have also risen, posing risk for investors building from scratch.

建筑成本也有所上升，给白手起家的投资者带来了风险。

Prices for building materials, including concrete, lumber⁸ and steel, have surged by 38% since the start of 2020.

自2020年初以来，包括混凝土、木材和钢材在内的建筑材料价格飙升了38%。

Interest-rate rises are another worry; as the market softens⁹, investors are taking a more cautious approach.

利率上升是另一个令人担忧的问题；随着市场走软，投资者正在采取更为谨慎的做法。

Home Partners of America, owned by Blackstone, announced in August that it would pause home purchases in 38 cities, markets that represent 5% of its activity.

黑石集团旗下的Home Partners of America在8月份宣布，将暂停在38个城市的购房活动，这些交易占其活动的5%。

Economic cycles are inevitable¹⁰.

经济周期是不可避免的。

Rents are unlikely to continue to climb at a record pace.

租金不太可能继续以创纪录的速度攀升。

Yet history suggests that residential¹¹ rents are more resilient than those from other property types, especially in periods when supply is tight.

然而，历史表明，住宅租金比其他房地产类型的租金更具弹性，特别是在供应紧张的时期。

From 1974 to 1985, another period of high inflation, rents actually increased by 7-12% a year, notes Jay Parsons, an economist¹² at RealPage, a data firm.

数据公司RealPage的经济学家杰伊·帕森斯指出，1974年到1985年（另一个高通胀时期）间，租金实际上每年上涨7%-12%。

Even as homebuyer demand crashed during the global financial crisis, demand from residential tenants did not waver.

即使在全球金融危机期间，购房者需求急剧下降，住宅租户的需求也没有减弱。

Although the housing splurge of institutional investors may calm a bit, it is unlikely to cease.

尽管机构投资者的购房热潮可能会稍稍平息，却不太可能完全停止。 

1 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

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 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

5 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 renovating   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The increased production was largely attained by renovating old orchards and vineyards. 通过更新老果园和葡萄园，使生产大大增加。
• Renovating that house will cost you a pretty penny. 为了整修那所房子，你得花很多钱。

8 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

9 softens   

（使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• Iron softens with heat. 铁受热就软化。
• Moonlight softens our faults; all shabbiness dissolves into shadow. 月光淡化了我们的各种缺点，所有的卑微都化解为依稀朦胧的阴影。 来自名作英译部分

10 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

11 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

12 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。