泡沫破灭:香港楼市开始打折促销

Hong Kong's once-sizzling property market has turned so frosty that developers have resorted to discounts and other incentives to lure buyers to new apartment complexes.
香港原本火热的房地产市场已经降温，开发商开始藉助打折及其他促销手段吸引买家购买新房。

The new units are still expensive even after the givebacks -- some are commanding US$2,500 a square foot, or more, which rivals new luxury condos in Manhattan.
但即便考虑上返利因素，新住宅单位的价格依然很贵。有些单位的价格达到了每平方英尺2,500美元，甚至更高，完全可以和曼哈顿的新建豪宅相媲美。

But the price cuts mark a sharp break from the overheated market of just two years ago, before the government stepped in to cool price increases.
但与此形成鲜明对比的是，就在两年前香港楼市还呈现过热景象，促使政府进行干预为楼市降温。

Incentives ranging from 18-month payment delays to limited-time discounts and cash rebates are aimed at stoking a market that turned stagnant last year as buyers sat out and transaction totals fell. Some developers also are offering second mortgages via nonbank finance companies worth up to 25% of the purchase price of more expensive properties. (Banks in Hong Kong are allowed to lend no more than 50% on apartments costing over 10 million Hong Kong dollars, or US$1.3 million.)
开发商推出了各种刺激措施，包括延迟18个月付款、限时折扣和返还现金等等。由于买家离场观望，市场总成交量下滑，去年香港楼市逐渐变得低迷，上述措施旨在提振市场。一些开发商还通过非银行金融公司提供二次按揭，按揭规模最高可以达到高价房总价的25%（对于超过1,000万港元（合130万美元）的住宅，按照规定，香港的银行提供的按揭贷款规模不能超过购房总额的50%）。

'Everybody is doing it,' Nicole Wong, a real-estate analyst at brokerage firm CLSA, said of the discounts. 'You've more supply fighting for a smaller amount of money and fewer buyers.'
里昂证券(CLSA)房地产分析师王艳(Nicole Wong)称，开发商都在打折，住房供应增多了，但资金和购房者却减少了。

After a bull run that sent house prices doubling from 2008 to 2013, the government sought to rein in the market with various measures starting in late 2012. They included higher minimum down payments and sales taxes levied on transactions, or stamp duties, of up to 8.5%. As a result, the number of Hong Kong real-estate transactions fell to a 23-year low last year.
香港房地产市场在2008年至2013年间经历了一轮牛市，房价上涨了一倍；从2012年年底开始，香港政府开始推出各种措施试图抑制房地产市场。这些措施包括提高首付门槛、将印花税税率上调至最高8.5%。结果，去年香港房地产交易量跌至23年低点。

Authorities also imposed a so-called double-stamp duty, of 17%, on property purchases made by non-Hong Kong residents, including those from mainland China, who often were blamed for pushing up the price of real estate.
香港政府还对非香港居民（包括中国大陆居民）购买地产征收17%的双倍印花税。大陆买家经常被指是香港房价上涨背后的推动因素。

Hong Kong's measures iced the market, especially deterring foreign buyers and speculators, according to analysts. The number of residential transactions declined 56% in 2013, according to government data. Prices rose only slightly compared with 2012, according to an index by property agency Centaline. Government figures show an increase in 2013, but a slight decline in the first two months of 2014.
分析师们称，香港的这些举措令香港地产市场陷入寒冬，尤其抑制了海外买家和投机者的购房意愿。香港政府的数据显示，2013年香港住宅交易量减少56%。根据房屋中介机构中原地产(Centaline)的数据，2013年香港住宅价格较2012年仅微幅上涨。根据香港政府的数据，2013年住宅价格上涨，但今年前两个月小幅下跌。

Developers have had to sweeten their offers. The discounts started to appear late last year.
开发商们已不得不加大了优惠力度。打折现象是去年年底开始出现的。

So far, efforts seem to be working. Spring is traditionally busy and large crowds of aspiring homeowners have crowded the showrooms at the launches of new projects.
目前来看，这些促销手段似乎开始奏效。春天通常是楼市旺季，一些新推出楼盘的展厅内挤满了看房者。

'It's like Marks & Spencer's with a Christmas sale,' said Wong Leung Sing, an analyst at Centaline, referring to the department-store chain.
中原地产分析师黄良升表示，新楼盘人头涌动的景象堪比马莎百货(Marks & Spencer Group)的圣诞节促销场面。

While fewer transactions are being done in the overall housing market, sales of new apartments are on the rise, according to government figures. Transactions increased 23% in the first quarter from a year earlier, for a total value of HK$32 billion, a 28% increase from last year.
香港政府的数据显示，虽然住房市场总体交易量减少，但新建住宅销量增加。与上年同期相比，今年第一季度的新住宅成交量增长23%，成交额增长28%，至320亿港元。