新西蘭政府宣佈禁止外國人購房
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.
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。At 37, Ardern has become New Zealand's youngest leader for 150 years.
37歲的阿德恩是新西蘭150年來最年輕的領導人。
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.
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。
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.
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·約翰遜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.
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。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.
據報道，“中國的亞馬遜”阿里巴巴的創始人、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。
