房地產熱潮像淘金熱一樣勢不可擋

Lured by Finance Minister George Osborne'spromotion of the "Northern Powerhouse", Chinese investors are packingtheir bags and heading up the M6. They are not just buying homes. They arebuilding them, too.

在財政大臣奧斯本對“北方動力室”計劃促銷的誘惑下, 中國投資者打點行裝, 沿着高速公路M6向北進發. 他們不僅買房子, 還建房子.

In the process the Chinese are helping tofuel the beginnings of a property boom and push up prices, particularly inLiverpool and Manchester.

在此過程中, 中國人正助推房地產熱潮的興起, 推高價格, 特別是在利物浦和曼徹斯特.

So far this year Hong Kong Homes, theproperty company organising the seminars, has already sold more than 400 flatsin Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield to Chinese clients.

今年以來, 組織講座的香港房地產公司“香港居屋”已經把曼徹斯特, 利物浦和謝菲爾德等地超過400套公寓賣給中國客戶.

Some of those investing will never come tothe UK in person. Others are buying for children who come to university here.

這些投資者中有些本人永遠不會到英國. 其他人則是爲到這些地方上大學的孩子買的.

The prices were hefty on those. But ￡300 a squarefoot is nothing to them. "It's definitely pushing up prices, becausethey're bringing a lot of cash over here."

“那些房子價格不菲. 但每平米300英鎊對他們來說都不算什麼.”“這肯定會推高房價, 因爲他們帶來了好多現金.”

The Chinese are not just buying are building it as well.

中國人不只在買進曼徹斯特. 他們也在建設它.

The Beijing Engineering Construction Groupis investing ￡800m in Manchester's Airport City. President Xi Jinping saw the sitein person when he visited last year.

北京建工集團在曼徹斯特“航空城”投資8億英鎊. 習近平主席去年訪英時親自視察了工地.

Apartment blocks all over Manchester arenow being built with Chinese money. Even a slice of Manchester City FootballClub has been sold to the Chinese.

遍及曼徹斯特的公寓區現在都是用中國資金在興建. 甚至曼城足球俱樂部也部分出售給了中國人.

Their attitude to the Northern Powerhouseis stunning. It's insatiable, says Richard Wills-Woodward, an entrepreneur whohelps wealthy Chinese individuals invest in the UK.

“他們對北方動力室計劃的態度令人驚歎. 他們永不知足. ”幫助富裕的中國個人在英國投資的企業家伍德沃德說.

He points to the 300 million middle-classChinese, a figure equal to the whole population of the USA - who have money tospend.

他指的是3億有錢要花的中國中產階級, 這個數字相當於美國的整個人口.

But a potential property boom is not goodnews for everyone in Manchester. The housing charity Shelter believes that theinflux of Hong Kong dollars will cost local people dearly.

但潛在的房地產熱潮並不是對曼徹斯特的每個人都是好消息. 住房慈善組織“庇護所” 相信, 港幣的涌入將使本地人付出高昂代價.

Ordinary families are already struggling tokeep up with rising house prices in those regions, and investors flocking in tospeculate on homes that haven't even been built yet will only push prices furtherout of reach. says Toby Lloyd, Shelter's head of policy.

“普通家庭已經難以跟得上這些地區的價格上漲了, 投資者蜂擁而至, 在甚至還未建起的住房上投機, 只會進一步把房價推得不可企及.”“庇護所”政策主管勞埃德說.