中国房地产开发商进军美国楼市

A Chinese company listed on the New York Stock Exchange is beginning to develop residential property in the U.S., hoping to tap into the hot demand among Chinese investors for U.S. apartments.

一家在纽约证券交易所(New York Stock Exchange)上市的中国公司开始涉足美国居住房产市场，希望利用中国投资者对美国公寓的火热需求在美国有所作为。

Xinyuan Real Estate Co. XIN +3.40% purchased a site last month in Williamsburg, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, for its first development in the U.S., a 216-unit condominium building. The company also is scouting for other U.S. projects, planning to sell about 40% of the units it builds to Chinese investors.

鑫苑（中国）置业有限公司(Xinyuan Real Estate Co.)上月在纽约布鲁克林区的威廉斯堡买了块地，用于该公司在美国进行首个房地产开发项目──一幢有着216户的共管公寓大楼。此外，鑫苑置业还在美国搜寻其它项目，并计划将所建楼盘的40%左右卖给中国投资者。

'Chinese developers have money and access to a customer base that American developers can't get to,' says Omer Ozden, an adviser to Xinyuan and other Chinese investors in the market for U.S. real estate. 'If right out of the gate you can get 40% the building sold to mainland Chinese, it's going to be a successful project.'

Matt Craig / The Wall Street Journal鑫苑置业在纽约布鲁克林修建公寓大楼。为鑫苑置业及其他投资美国房地产市场的中国投资商提供咨询的欧阳默(Omer Ozden)说，中国开发商财力雄厚，并且有客户基础，而美国开发商则没办法获得这些客户；如果能很快将这座楼的40%卖给中国内地人士，那项目就成功了。

Chinese investment hasn't poured into U.S. real estate as some experts predicted, but it has been steadily growing. An additional two dozen Chinese real- estate companies, both state-owned and private, are also scouring major U.S. cities for property deals, Mr. Ozden said.

中国投资并没有像某些专家预测的那样大举进入美国楼市，但一直在稳步增长。欧阳默说，另有24家中国房地产开发商(包括国有和民营公司)目前也在美国主要城市寻找房地产交易。

Most of these firms are primarily seeking residential developments, though some are looking to acquire commercial buildings or luxury hotels, he said.

欧阳默说，上述公司里，绝大多数基本上都在寻找住宅项目，不过也有些公司希望收购商业楼盘或豪华酒店。

In one closely watched deal that is being negotiated, Lennar Corp., LEN +0.47% a major home builder, is in talks with the China Development Bank for about $1.7 billion in capital to transform two former San Francisco naval bases into huge housing developments.

有一桩备受关注的交易是，美国大型房屋建筑商Lennar Corp.目前正与中国国家开发银行(China Development Bank)就一笔约17亿美元的贷款进行磋商，这笔资金将用于把位于旧金山的两个前海军基地改造成大型住宅项目。

In recent years, as the Chinese government has tried to deflate a local housing bubble by restricting property purchases, more Chinese capital has flowed to the U.S. A report from the National Association of Realtors said that Chinese buyers accounted for $9 billion in U.S. residential sales for the year ended in March, trailing only Canadians among foreign buyers.

近年来，中国政府一直在限制百姓购房，试图借此打压楼市泡沫，因此越来越多的中国资金流往美国。美国全国地产经纪商协会(National Association of Realtors)发布的报告说，在截至今年3月的一年里，中国买家在美国购买了价值90亿美元的居住房产，在美国海外买家中出手的阔绰程度仅次于加拿大人。

Mr. Ozden, who is also a partner at Beijing Capital, the private-equity arm of the Beijing municipal government, said that Xinyuan is focusing on cities where Chinese investors like to live, primarily New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. These buyers typically use the condos as investments that they intend to rent out. Some plan them as second homes, or places for their children to live while studying at a U.S. university.

欧阳默目前还是北京首创股权投资基金管理公司的合伙人，该公司是北京市政府旗下的私募股权公司。欧阳默说，鑫苑置业现在关注的是中国投资者喜欢居住的城市，如纽约、洛杉矶、旧金山和迈阿密等。这些买家一般把公寓当作投资，倾向于向外出租。还有人打算把公寓作为第二居所，或让子女在美国上大学时住。

Xinyuan paid $54.2 million for the site in Williamsburg and plans to spend about $200 million on the development. Total condo sales are expected to be in the $250 million to $350 million range.

鑫苑置业为威廉斯堡那块地支付了5,420万美元，计划为这个项目投资约2亿美元。预计该公寓楼的销售总额约为2.5亿至3.5亿美元。

Finding the right project hasn't always been easy for Chinese investors. Mr. Ozden said cultural differences have often made teaming up with U.S. partners a challenge. Some Chinese developers have relied on close friends, who speak English but know little about real estate, to serve as their negotiators. That has limited Chinese access to deals, and they often see properties only after many local investors have taken a pass.

找到合适的项目对中国投资者来说并非总是易事。欧阳默说，文化差异经常为中国人与美国合伙人的合作带来挑战。一些中国开发商依靠那些英语流利、但对房地产知之甚少的密友来充当自己的谈判代表。这就限制了中国人获取交易的途径，而且他们常常是在很多美国投资者都看过并放弃后才有机会去看某些楼盘项目。

Foreign investors have stubbed their toe in the U.S. real-estate market before. New York City can be particularly challenging for outsiders unfamiliar with how contractors and unions operate. Mr. Ozden said Xinyuan is hiring locals in New York to help navigate areas like that.

外国投资者以前在美国房地产市场上曾跌过跟头。尤其是纽约市，进军这里的楼市对于不熟悉承包商和行业协会操作方式的外来者而言可能极具挑战性。欧阳默说，鑫苑置业目前正在纽约雇当地人来协助在这类城市的项目运作。

Xinyuan, which was founded in Zhengzhou in 1997, is developing residential buildings in about eight Chinese cities. It was the first real-estate developer in China to list shares on the NYSE, when it had an initial public offering in 2007, according to the company website. This month, it reported third-quarter revenue of $226.1 million and net income of $31.9 million.

鑫苑置业1997年成立于河南郑州，目前在中国大约八个城市开发居住房产项目。据该公司网站介绍，该公司2007年进行首次公开募股，是首家在纽约证交所上市的中国房地产企业。鑫苑置业本月称，公司第三财季的营收达到2.261亿美元，净收益为3,190万美元。

The company acquired the Williamsburg site from New York real-estate investor Richard Kalikow, who had foreclosed on the project's developer. Xinyuan plans to build mostly three-bedroom units to appeal to families who want an upscale building but may be priced out of Manhattan.

鑫苑置业从纽约房地产投资者卡利科(Richard Kalikow)手里收购了威廉斯堡那个项目，之前卡利科曾取消了该项目开发商的抵押赎回权。鑫苑置业目前打算将大多数公寓建成三居室，以吸引那些既希望买高端公寓但可能又住不起曼哈顿的家庭。

Mr. Ozden declined to comment on how much Xinyuan intends to charge for the units, but condos in the area tend to sell for around $700 to $800 a square foot. 'We think Williamsburg has one of the biggest upsides for residential real estate in the U.S.,' Mr. Ozden said.

欧阳默拒绝就鑫苑置业未来的公寓价格发表评论，不过该地区的公寓售价一般在每平方英尺700美元至800美元左右。欧阳默说，我们认为对美国住宅房地产项目而言，威廉斯堡是有着最大潜力的地方之一。