新西兰女总理上任第一把火：禁止外国人买房

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.

为了应对住房危机，新西兰正计划禁止外国人购买现房，从而遏制住全世界的有钱人在新西兰抢购房产的势头。

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. At 37, Ardern has become New Zealand’s youngest leader for 150 years.

新西兰新当选总理杰辛达•阿德恩公布的这项购房禁令将会受到世界上其他同样面临住房短缺和由外国投资者引起的房价上涨的国家的密切关注。37岁的阿德恩是新西兰150年来最年轻的领导人。

先来了解一下这位刚刚宣誓就职的女总理吧。

作为80后的杰辛达•阿德恩是新西兰自1856年以来最年轻的总理，也是新西兰历史上第三位女总理。上月，37岁的新西兰政治新星杰辛达•阿德恩因所率工党在议会选举中失利，一时有成为“政坛流星”之虞。而不到一个月，阿德恩成功逆袭，率议会第二大党与其他小党派谈判组阁成功，当选新一任总理。而这距离她出任工党党首也才两个多月，距离她成为议员不到10年。

今年8月，新西兰大选在即，而作为最大反对党的工党支持率降到了24％，党首安德鲁•利特尔为此黯然辞职。阿德恩临危受命，出任新党首。

阿德恩接任党首第二天，新西兰电视台早间节目的男主播“为难”阿德恩：“总理任期内休产假是否会影响工作？”阿德恩用手指着主持人愤怒反击说，什么时候生孩子，是女性自己的选择，不应成为能够获得工作的预设条件。这次发飙成了阿德恩“圈粉”的起点。阿德恩表示，自己要代表新一代的选民，解决他们迫在眉睫的问题，如上学、买房、环境和儿童贫困等。

在新西兰，阿德恩广为人知的另一面是业余DJ，甚至参与过大型音乐节表演。这些充满个性的特点显然增加了阿德恩的“魅力值”。她的“横空出世”，不仅改变了工党竞选海报的背景色，也改变了选民对这一党派的看法。工党支持率迅速蹿升，甚至在选前一些民调一度超过国家党，掀起了一股“杰辛达热”。

阿德恩刚刚上任就推出了多项楼市调控政策，可见房价在新西兰也成为了一个不容乐观的民生难题。没办法，谁让新西兰被全球的有钱人给看上了呢？

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.

新西兰已成为中国、澳洲和亚洲买家购房的目的地，被称为全世界富人的避风港。富人们将新西兰看作逃离潜在核冲突、恐怖主义袭击和国内动乱的避难所。

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. 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.

新西兰也是美国富人逃离政治动荡的热门国家，在美国富人看来，新西兰社会稳定、法律健全又远离潜在的冲突地带。全球最大的在线支付平台贝宝的共同创始人、Facebook的董事会成员、特朗普竞选的资助人彼得•泰尔就在新西兰购置了房产

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.”

全球越来越多的金融家也开始在新西兰抢购房产。美国新经济思维基金会主席罗伯特•强生在达沃斯年会上发言说：“我知道世界各地的对冲基金经理都在购入新西兰等国的飞机跑道和农场，因为他们认为自己需要一个避风港。”

Reports by Bloomberg and the New Yorker have suggested dozens of Silicon Valley futurists are secretly preparing for doomsday, acquiring boltholes in the country. 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.

彭博社和《纽约客》的报道指出，硅谷的未来主义者们正在秘密地为世界末日做准备，在新西兰寻找避难之处。据报道，“中国的亚马逊”阿里巴巴创始人、中国首富马云也有兴趣在新西兰买房。

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.

新西兰面向外国人的地产生意非常兴隆，2016年共有46.6万公顷地卖给了外国人，同比增长六倍。在总人口470万的新西兰，卖给外国人的土地相当于该国3.2%的农田面积。

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.

尽管地产业很兴旺，但是官方数据显示，政府登记的第二季度发生的48603笔房产交易中，只有3%是纳税地在国外的人。

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.

这些交易的大部分买家都是中国大陆人，其次是澳大利亚人。英国、美国和香港的纳税居民也是最大的买家。

根据澳新银行今年2月的估算显示，新西兰的房屋短缺已经达到了6万套，且以40套/每日的速度持续增长。外国买家方面，据当地媒体报道，最先是美国人到新西兰买房，不过近几年，美国买家的风头被中国人盖过了。

Domestic buyers feel they are losing out. Only a quarter of adults in New Zealand own their own home, compared with half in 1991. Soaring house prices have put home ownership out of reach for many. Hundreds of families in Auckland were found last year to be living in cars, garages and even a shipping container.

国内的购房者开始觉得式微。新西兰只有四分之一的成年人拥有自己的住房，而1991年有半数成年人有自己的房子。飙升的房价已经让许多人都买不起房了。去年奥克兰数百户家庭被发现居住在汽车、车库甚至海运集装箱里。

According to research from property agents Knight Frank, New Zealand was the 10th fastest growing country in the world in terms of house prices. Prices increased by 10.4% in the year to the end of June, compared with 2.8% in the UK. In Wellington, the capital, they soared by more than 18% in the same period. A report by the Economist this year showed New Zealand had the most unaffordable house prices in the world, with prices in Auckland climbing 75% in the last four years, although the market has cooled in recent months.

根据莱坊房产经纪公司的研究，世界上房价增长最快的国家中，新西兰位列第十。截至今年六月底，新西兰房价已上涨10.4%，与此同时，英国房价上涨了2.8%。新西兰首都惠灵顿同期房价上涨超18%。《经济学人》杂志今年的一份报告显示，新西兰的房价是全世界最贵的，在过去四年里，奥克兰的房价上涨了75%，不过房产市场在过去几个月已经有所降温。

The country’s proposed ban on foreign buyers, which would only apply to non-domiciles, comes amid rising support for protectionist policies in developed nations around the world. Trump rode to election victory by pledging more jobs and support for US citizens, while the Brexit vote has been interpreted as a call to prioritise British workers over European migrant labour.

在世界发达国家保护主义盛行的背景下，新西兰针对外国人的购房禁令将只针对非永久居民。特朗普就是靠着承诺给美国公民带来更多就业和补助赢得大选的，而英国脱欧公投也可以被理解为将英国工人利益置于欧洲移民劳工的利益之前。

The steps announced by Ardern form part of a coalition deal unveiled this week by her Labour party and the minority partners forming her government – the Green party and anti-immigration New Zealand First. It follows a campaign pledge by Labour to crack down on “property speculators”.

阿德恩宣布的这一举措是本周她领导的工党和绿党、新西兰优先党组成的政府公布的联合协议的一部分。此前工党在竞选中承诺要打击“房产投机者”。

在临近就职典礼的几日，阿德恩在多个公开场合表示：“禁止外国投机者的法案将在今年圣诞节以前推出。”就在10月25日，阿德恩对当地媒体表示，和工党联合执政的优先党、绿党，在这项计划上已达成一致，“我们共同的目标和承诺是禁止海外买家购买当地现房。”该政府还计划收紧移民政策。

Speaking after the announcement of the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes, the leader of NZ First, Winston Peters, said: “There’s going to be a change and a clear signal sent internationally that New Zealand is no longer for sale in the way it has been. And we are happy with that.”

在禁止外国人购买现房的政策公布后，新西兰优先党党魁温斯顿•皮特斯说：“以后就会不一样了，我们已向国际社会发出清晰信号：新西兰不能再像从前那样买卖房产了。而我们对此很满意。”