银行业者撤离 香港高端住宅租金下降

Layoffs of highly paid bankers are causing cracks in Hong Kong's luxury-apartment market, by some measures the world's most expensive.

高薪银行业者离去令香港的豪华公寓市场出现松动。从某些指标看，这些公寓是世界上最昂贵的。

One of the city's leading moving companies, Crown Relocations, reports the number of people it's moving into Hong Kong this year is down by about a quarter from a year ago, while the number it's moving out is up by about a quarter. The folks moving out have needed lots of cargo space, which the company has interpreted as meaning they're mid- and senior-level executives, a spokeswoman said.

香港引领市场的搬家公司之一嘉柏安居(Crown Relocations)反映，今年搬进香港的客户数量同比下降了四分之一左右，而搬出香港的客户数量则上升约四分之一。一位发言人说，搬出香港的人们需要有很大的载货空间，据公司的理解，这意味着他们属于中高层管理人员。

Every summer, in what's dubbed 'peak season,' Hong Kong's new expatriate hires shop for accommodation before they bring their families from overseas for the new school term. Real-estate agents welcome these big spenders.

每逢夏季高峰期，新来香港的企业外派人员都会寻访住处，然后把家属从海外带过来，迎接新的学期。房地产中介公司非常欢迎这些出手阔绰的房客。

This year, however, the summer rush has been anything but: Demand from high-end tenants has been lackluster, according to brokers. Uncertainties in Western economies are trickling down to Asia, where financial firms have been cutting staff and making the accommodation allowances for high-ranking employees less generous.

然而据中介公司说，今年夏季高峰期高端租户需求不旺。西方经济前景的不确定性正在向亚洲地区慢慢渗透。在亚洲，金融企业一直在裁员，并降低高级员工的居住补贴。

Agents expect the market to quiet down further as the year draws to an end. That's sapped demand for the city's largest and best-located residences.

中介公司预计年内市场还会进一步趋冷。这削弱了市场对位置上佳的大面积住宅的需求。

'Landlords are keeping their asking price but are more willing to negotiate now,' said Patrick Lam, Centaline Property Agency's District Associate Director.

中原地产代理有限公司(Centaline Property Agency)区级联席董事林少礼说，业主要价没变，但现在更愿意讨价还价了。

The rent drops so far in the high-end segment have been real, though modest beside the increases of previous years.

今年以来高端住宅租金的下降是实实在在的，不过和前几年的涨幅比起来并不算大。

'Things may be shifting to be slightly more favorable to renters, but it's still a landlord's market,' said Edward Farrelly, Head of Research at CBRE.

世邦魏理仕研究部负责人范伟年(Edward Farrelly)说，情况的变化或许稍稍更加有利于租户，但这仍然是一个出租方市场。

For large apartments伟1,080 square feet to 1,720 square feet伟on Hong Kong Island, rents in June were down 5% from a year earlier, to 386 Hong Kong dollars (about US$50) per square foot, figures from the government's Rating and Valuation Department show. But that's after rents rose 50% between April 2009 and August 2011, when they hit a record high.

特区政府差饷物业估价署(Rating and Valuation Department)的数据显示，6月份香港岛面积在100平方米到160平方米的大房租金为每平方米386港元（约合50美元），同比下降5%。但在这之前，从2009年4月到租金创纪录的2011年8月，房租涨幅达到50%。

Rents for smaller apartments have kept climbing, according to the government figures. For instance, a diminutive, 430-square foot apartments rented for 2% more in June than the year earlier.

政府数据显示，小房租金仍在攀升。 比如6月份40平米小户型的租金就同比上涨了2%。

'Those who would've gone for apartments that cost more than HK$100,000 would now rent apartments that cost HK$60,000 to HK$80,000,' said Jackson Chiu, a manager at Land and Fortune Realty Limited.

利福行租务有限公司(Land and Fortune Realty Limited)经理赵伟鸣说，原来要租10万港元以上房子的人，现在会租6万港元到8万港元的房子。

Real-estate brokerage Colliers said in a report that its clients shopping for accommodation this year don't include many bankers. Companies outside the finance sector have continued to bring in expatriates伟but their housing budgets 'have not yet matched those from the finance sector,' according to the Colliers research.

房地产经纪公司高力国际(Colliers)的一份报告说，今年寻访住宅的客户当中，银行从业者并不是很多。据这份报告说，非金融企业仍在向香港派送人员，但它们的居住预算还没有赶上金融业的预算。

Monthly rents for a house on Hong Kong Island's south side, which faces the sea, go for HK$125,000 a month (US$16,000) while those in the affluent Peak neighborhood cost at least HK$185,000, according to brokers and listings. For such pricey property, some landlords伟especially corporate property owners with hundreds of apartments to lease伟are offering inducements such as months of free rent.

经纪商数据和挂牌价格显示，朝海的港岛南侧月租多达12.5万港元（约合1.6万美元），而在富裕的山顶区，月租至少为18.5万港元。对于这类昂贵的物业，部分房东（特别是有几百套房子出租的公司房东）推出了免租金几个月的优惠。

Big landlords 'can offer rent-free apartments, free car park spaces to attract tenants,' said Mr. Chiu, of Land and Fortune Realty.

赵伟鸣说，为吸引租客，大房东可能会提供免租金的房子和免费的停车位。