经济学人:全球一线城市房价暴涨 究竟是什么在操控着房价?

 　　Whenever the supply of a good is limited, there is potential for exuberance¹.

　　一种商品供给的有限性总是伴随着繁荣的潜在性。

　　San Francisco's property market is intertwined with the technology sector²: since 2008 there has been a 93% correlation³ between the monthly movements in the NASDAQ and house-price inflation in its metropolitan⁴ area.

　　旧金山房地产市场与技术部门关系紧密，自2008年起，美国全国证券交易商协会自动报价系统每月93%的运作与市区房价高涨相关。

　　Since bottoming out in early 2012, prices in Silicon⁵ Valley have risen by 73%, compared with 31% in America as a whole.

　　自2012年早期房价触底回升以来，硅谷的房价与全国总体水平31%相比上涨了73%。

　　To determine whether homes are fairly valued The Economist⁶ looks at the relationship between prices and disposable income (an indicator⁷ of affordability) and between prices and rents (a substitute for buying a home) .

　　为了查明房价是否合理，经济学人杂志看了看价格与可支配收入（衡量支付能力的指标）和租房（买房行为的替代品）两者的关系。

　　If rising prices move these ratios above their long-run averages, then either incomes or rents are likely to rise, or house prices to fall.

　　如果价格上升推动这些比率上升至其长期平均水平之上，那么要么是收入和租金可能增加，或是房价下落。

　　Across America house prices, after falling by 25% from their peak between 2007 and 2012, are now at fair value compared with rents and incomes.

　　在2007年到2012年间，全美房价从最高点下落了25%，如今房价收入比和房价租金比已处于公允价值。

　　In San Francisco, too, they are at fair value when compared with rents, but 45% overvalued relative to incomes.

　　旧金山的房价租金比也是如此，但是房价收入比高估了45%。

　　Thanks largely to their big cities, housing appears to be more than 40% overvalued in Australia, Britain and Canada, according to the average of our two measures.

　　两种计量方法得出的平均值显示，澳大利亚、英国、加拿大住房价格似乎被高估了40%以上，这很大程度归功于这些国家的大城市。

　　Between 2002 and 2012 the typical London home sold for seven times the city's average annual salary. That figure has since risen to 12 times.

　　2002年到2012年间，伦敦普通住房的售价是全国居民年平均收入的7倍，而这个数字目前已增长了12倍。

　　As property developers from Las Vegas to Limerick will attest⁸, when supply does eventually respond to soaring demand, property prices fall.

　　当供给最终对日益膨胀的需求作出回应的时候，房地产价格就会下落。拉斯维加斯和利默里克的房地产开发商们会证实这一点。

　　Restrictive planning laws curb⁹ new construction in the area around San Francisco Bay; the narrow peninsula that San Francisco itself occupies compounds the problem.

　　严格的规划法规抑制了旧金山海湾地区新住房的建设；旧金山所在半岛的狭小加剧了这一问题。

　　London suffers from an even more severe planning regime.

　　伦敦的规划制度更加严厉。

　　Yet housing starts are at a nine-year high in San Francisco.

　　然而旧金山的房屋开工率是9年来最高的。

　　In London, too, builders are finding a way: construction began on 24,000 new homes in the capital in 2015, the highest rate for ten years.

　　伦敦同样也找到了解决办法：2015年该市24000所住房开始进入施工阶段，创10年新高。

　　1.compared with 与...相比较

　　例句:He's a pygmy when compared with great musicians.

　　他和伟大的音乐家相比就成了侏儒。

　　2.according to 通过

　　例句:Prices vary according to the quantity ordered

　　价格随订购数量不同而有所变化。

　　3.long-run 长期的

　　例句:Long-run and short-run changes play an important part in economic models.

　　长期和短期的变化在“经济模型”中起重要作用。

　　4.annual salary 年薪

　　例句:Gorman got an$ 800,000 annual salary for 2009.

　　他2009年拿到了80万美元的年薪。

1 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

4 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

5 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

6 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。

7 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

8 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。