世界上最昂贵的城市（以及它们昂贵的原因）
The World's Most Expensive Cities in 2017 (And Why They Are So Expensive)

由专筑网李韧，韩平编译

任何一个在一线城市计划买房的人都非常清楚，房价与薪资水平并不成正比，其中的差距引发了世界许多国家的住房危机。住房对于城市里的人们来说已经成为商品，而不是基本生活需求。然而由于经济发展的不稳定造成更多的年轻人无法负担住房费用，从而造成了全球住房危机。

今年早些时候，2017年第十三届国际住房负担能力调查发现，人们对于住房“严重负担不起”的困扰已越来越严重，这项研究评估了世界上九个主要经济体的406个大城市的住房市场，并采用“平均倍数”的方法来确定人们的支付能力。通过将房价中位数除以一个地区的家庭收入中位数，这种方法就是对“中等收入家庭的住房负担能力”的总结。

如果房价继续以当前的速度持续增长，它可能会给我们的城市带来严重后果。不幸的是，要从根本上解决这个问题需要整个社会全方位的转变，但通常每个城市都有影响住房市场的独特因素，因此，危机的解决办法并非通用。高房价也不应该被认为是一个城市的成功指示标，因为这是满足市民根本需求的一大障碍。

在这篇文章中，虽然一个城市的房价可能高于另一个城市，但由于居民的收入差距，这个城市的房价也许是相对“便宜”。下面是2017年房价最昂贵的九大城市，其中每个城市的平均倍数法得分都超过了9，这意味着中等收入家庭需要花费9年的收入。当然，我们更需要了解的是每个城市的房价如此昂贵的原因。

As anyone who has recently attempted apartment-hunting in a major urban area will know, reasonably-priced housing can be difficult to come by for many and salaries don’t always seem to match the cost of living. This gap is contributing to housing crises in developed and developing countries worldwide. People are simply being priced out of cities, where housing has become a commodity instead of a basic human right. Financial speculation and states’ support of financial markets in a way that makes housing unaffordable has created an unsustainable global housing crisis.
Earlier this year the 13th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey was released for 2017, revealing that the number of “severely unaffordable” major housing markets rose from 26 to 29 this year; the problem is getting worse. The study evaluates 406 metropolitan housing markets in nine of the world's major economies and uses the “mean multiple” approach to determine affordability. By dividing the median house price by the median household income of an area, this method is meant to be a summary of “middle-income housing affordability.”
If the price of housing continues to rise at the rate that it has, it could have drastic consequences for our cities. Unfortunately, while a collective paradigm shift may be necessary to address the overarching problem of how governments and investors approach housing, often each city also has other unique factors influencing its housing market, so there is likely not a one-size-fits-all solution to the crises. Unattainably high housing prices should not be considered an indication of a city’s success or desirability, but instead as a failure to respond to its given conditions and to provide the housing its citizens need.
In this article, although home prices in one city may be higher than another, that city may be considered relatively “less expensive” because of residents’ income. Below is a list of the top 9 least affordable cities for 2017, each of which scored over a 9.0 using the mean multiple approach—meaning that the median home costs 9 years' worth of the median person's income. Of course, in each city the main question is: “why?”


9、旧金山：为什么旧金山如此昂贵？


Image © Aaron Logan via Wikimedia licensed under CC BY 1.0

中等房价：835400美元
收入中位数：90400美元
中位数倍数：9.3

旧金山在排行中排名第九，这里曾经遭受过高房价等的诸多挑战，从分区法规及严格的土地使用制度，到近期各种科技公司的涌入。旧金山的半岛地理位置意味着增加住房供应的唯一真正选择是大量增加高层建筑。然而，在旧金山的大部分地区，区域建筑法规禁止任何超过40英尺高的建筑物，大多数现有建筑物也未达到这一极限。旧金山人民更在意的是维持自身的居住环境，他们需要公园与住宅区，这使得高层建筑几乎不可能在市中心大力发展。另一个问题则是该市在建造房屋方面的优先事项，豪华住房越来越多，但只有18.1%的中产阶级住房。而一些高科技公司搬到旧金山也使得住房需求结构变得越来越复杂，高薪员工可以承受较高的租金，这也造成了一定的房价波动。

9. San Francisco: Why is San Francisco so expensive?
Median Price: $835,400 USD
Median Income: $90,400 USD
Median Multiple: 9.3
Beginning with the best of the worst and moving towards the most expensive, as the 9th most unaffordable city San Francisco suffers from many challenges that are causing its high housing prices, from well-meaning zoning laws and restrictive land use regulations, to the recent influx of tech companies. San Francisco’s location on a peninsula means that its only real option for adding housing supply is to go vertically. However, in most of San Francisco the zoning laws prohibit any buildings over 40 feet tall, and most existing buildings are not even close to that limit. San Franciscans are concerned with maintaining their views, their parks, and their residential areas, which has made high-rise development outside of downtown virtually impossible. Another problem seems to be the city’s priorities in the housing that does get built, having met and nearly doubled the amount of luxury housing in demand and yet only providing 18.1% of necessary middle-class housing. The demand side of the equation is also complicated by the tech companies moving to the area, whose well-paid employees can afford higher rents and are thereby gentrifying neighborhoods where other groups are being priced-out entirely.


8、洛杉矶：为什么洛杉矶如此昂贵？


Image © Wikimidia user Pintaric licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

中等房价：593900美元
收入中位数：63900美元
中位数倍数：9.3

洛杉矶的豪华高层发展比旧金山更为频繁，但这不是房地产市场的主要问题。相反，洛杉矶所面临的问题是其低空缺率，这也是美国2016年的最低空置率——3.1%。事实上，豪华的高层建筑有助于满足人们的需求，像许多昂贵的城市一样，洛杉矶迫切需要更多的中产阶级住房。在过去的几年里，整个城市的房价都在不断上涨，也就是说缺乏空缺住房是这里的根本问题。很少有人愿意将自己的一半收入用在住房花费上，低空置率使得开发商能漫天要价，因为总有人能支付得起。

8. Los Angeles: Why is Los Angeles so expensive?
Median Price: $593,900 USD
Median Income: $63,900 USD
Median Multiple: 9.3
Los Angeles sees more frequent luxury high-rise development than San Francisco, and yet that may not be the major problem in its housing market. Instead, what Los Angeles suffers from is an extremely low vacancy rate, the lowest in the United States as of 2016, at 3.1%. So in fact, the luxury high rises are helping to meet demand, but obviously they won’t do the job alone. Like many of these expensive cities, Los Angeles is in desperate need of more middle class housing as well. In past years housing prices have risen consistently all over the city, not only in areas with increased development, which points to the lack of vacancy as the underlying issue. People who are determined to live in the city may have such a hard time finding a place that they’re willing to pay upwards of 50% of their income on housing; a low vacancy rate means all the power resides with the landlords and property owners who can set the prices where they like knowing they’ll find someone to pay it.


7、檀香山：为什么檀香山如此昂贵？


Image © Flickr user Geoff Livingston licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

中等房价：745300美元
收入中位数：78900美元
中位数倍数：9.4

另一个像旧金山这样的供需困难的城市是檀香山。作为一个岛屿，夏威夷的发展与扩张空间非常有限，这里还有一些限制性的土地使用法用于保护自然景观。这里的发展需要几年才能完成，与此同时，人们也需要住房。从二战开始，夏威夷的房价一直远高于美国本土。由于到达夏威夷的机票十分便宜，这就使得旅游市场变得繁荣，想要在岛上永久定居的人数也相应增加，今天，影响夏威夷檀香山房价的因素也有此，这里已经成为世界住房选购的最佳地点，当地人对于住房价格无法完全负担，然而这里的房价却不由当地人的收入直接决定，它取决于许多外部需求因素。

7. Honolulu: Why is Honolulu so expensive?

Median Price: $745,300 USD
Median Income: $78,900 USD
Median Multiple: 9.4
Another city with a difficult supply and demand problem like San Francisco is Honolulu. Being an island, Hawaii of course has very limited space for development and expansion as well as some of the most restrictive land use laws to protect the natural landscape. Development can take years to complete and meanwhile people need homes. Home prices in Hawaii have always been significantly higher than the mainland United States, starting around World War II. Once it was cheaper to fly to Hawaii, the tourism market boomed and demand for people who wanted to move permanently to the islands increased with no supply boost to match. Today what’s influencing Honolulu’s housing prices is an extension of the same situation; it has become one of the most desirable places for the wealthy international “1 percent” population to buy property. Honolulu lacks affordable housing for locals, and Hawaii is the only state in the US where the housing prices are not directly determined by the incomes of the people who live there, but instead by outside demand.


6、墨尔本：为什么墨尔本如此昂贵？


Image © Wikimedia user David Iliff licensed under CC BY 3.0

中等房价：740000澳元
收入中位数：78200澳元
中位数倍数：9.5

虽然悉尼的房价也许更高，但墨尔本的房价也不便宜，这里经常被评选为澳大利亚最宜居的城市，并因其文化和社区而闻名，墨尔本迅速受到欢迎，人口也急剧增加。事实上，预计到2050年底，墨尔本将超过悉尼成为澳大利亚最大的城市。这一现象引发了人们现在所熟悉的供需斗争，而墨尔本房价高昂的另一个原因是这里的造价高，事实上，墨尔本是世界上造价最昂贵的城市之一，这要归功于强大工会的悠久历史，工会保护了工人的合法权利，但这也相应增加了建筑成本。造成建筑成本高的另一个因素是澳大利亚的地理隔离，因为私营部门之间的竞争降低了材料价格，同时许多建筑材料也必须从国外进口，因此建筑成本增加。

6. Melbourne: Why is Melbourne so expensive?
Median Price: $740,000 AUD
Median Income: $78,200 AUD
Median Multiple: 9.5
While we’ll see Sydney higher up on the list, Melbourne is quickly catching up to its rival in unaffordability—one competition the locals probably wouldn’t mind losing. Often voted the most livable city in Australia and known for its culture and community, Melbourne is quickly gaining popularity and, with it, a sharp population increase. In fact, Melbourne is projected to overtake Sydney as the largest city in Australia by 2050. This phenomenon has triggered the now-familiar supply and demand struggle we’re coming to see as a pattern on this list, and one thing that makes Melbourne particularly expensive to live in is that it’s particularly expensive to build in. In fact, Melbourne is one of the most expensive cities to build in worldwide, thanks in part to a long history of powerful trade unions, which have protected workers’ rights but also increased construction costs. Another factor contributing to the high construction costs is Australia’s geographic isolation, as there’s less private sector competition to drive prices down and many construction materials must be imported.


5、圣何塞：为什么圣何塞如此昂贵？


Image © Wikimedia user Don Ramey Logan licensed under CC BY 4.0

中等房价：1000000美元
收入中位数：104100美元
中位数倍数：9.6

加州的圣何塞被誉为美国最昂贵的房地产市场，这里击败了旧金山和洛杉矶成为更加昂贵的城市。尤其是在圣何塞，投机发展似乎是加州的一个特殊问题，开发商认为住房是一种投资，而不是城市人口的资源。另外，圣何塞和旧金山一样，受其邻近硅谷的影响，该地区就业人数的增加导致了需求的增加，从而导致了住房成本的增加。圣何塞也引起了许多国际移民的兴趣，因为这是一个理想的居住地点。所有这些因素也许有助于该地区短期内对房地产投资，但并不能真正解决当地居民住房需求的问题。

5. San Jose: Why is San Jose so expensive?
Median Price: $1,000,000 USD
Median Income: $104,100 USD
Median Multiple: 9.6
The award for the most expensive housing market in the United States goes to San Jose, California, beating out the more infamously unaffordable cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Speculation development seems to be a particular problem in California and specifically in San Jose, wherein developers see housing more as an investment than as a resource for the city’s population. San Jose, like San Francisco, is affected by its proximity to Silicon Valley and therefore the increase in employment in the area led to an increase in demand and consequently housing costs. San Jose is also seeing interest from many international migrants, since it’s a desirable place to live. All of this likely contributes to the amount of short term investments in property in the area, beneficial to the developers but not actually solving the problems of the local population’s need for housing.


4、奥克兰：为什么奥克兰如此昂贵？


Image © Flickr user ronmacphotos licensed under CC BY 2.0

中等房价：830800新西兰元
平均年收入：83000新西兰元
中位数倍数：10

新西兰的某项调查考虑了房价与收入的关系，奥克兰相对较低的收入与高房价相比，使得房价有些承受。奥克兰的问题是，虽然近年来房价上涨，但工资仍然相对平稳。奥克兰是新西兰唯一的房地产城市，单个地区的人口超过了100万，自2004年起，这里越来越多的居民无法负担该地区的房价，然而，奥克兰作为一个理想的宜居城市，这里的人口增长与供应并不匹配，许多人通过投机和炒房获利。

4. Auckland: Why is Auckland so expensive?
Median Price: $830,800 NZD
Median Income: $83,000 NZD
Median Multiple: 10.0
In the case of Auckland, New Zealand, the specific factors considered in the Demographia survey had an impact on landing the city so high up the list. Because the survey took into account home price in relation to income, the relatively moderate income in Auckland compared to its high housing prices gave it a very unaffordable rating. The problem in Auckland is that while housing prices have increased in recent years, wages have remained relatively stationary. Auckland is considered New Zealand’s only major housing market for the purpose of the report—"major market" in the report's terms indicates an area with over 1 million people—and its unaffordability factor has nearly doubled since the annual survey began in 2004. As a desirable destination, Auckland is another city suffering from increased population and insufficient supply, as well as speculation and house-flipping for a profit.


3、温哥华：为什么温哥华如此昂贵？


Image © Andrew Raun via Wikimedia licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

中等房价：830100加币
收入中位数：70500加币
中位数倍数：11.8

温哥华的房地产市场的收入来源有一部分来自于外国买家，特别是来自中国大陆的人们。这可能听起来像一个奇怪的现象，但温哥华与悉尼和香港一样，同样是“门户城市”，这里的移民人口增长率高，同时也有大量的外国投资，从而导致房价飞涨。与夏威夷一样，房地产市场由外地人所推动，特别是温哥华的离岸投资者。而这些富裕的投资者，不仅在加拿大，还在世界各地购买豪宅，这样便大大影响了整个城市的经济发展，从而影响了许多中、低收人群。

3. Vancouver: Why is Vancouver so expensive?
Median Price: $830,100 CAD
Median Income: $70,500 CAD
Median Multiple: 11.8
Vancouver seems to have a very specific problem in that much of its real estate is being bought by foreign buyers, particularly from mainland China. This may sound like an odd phenomenon, but Vancouver is what’s considered a “gateway city,” a title shared with Sydney and Hong Kong, the only two less affordable cities on the list. Gateway cities have high immigration-driven population growth as well as a huge amount of foreign investment, which leads to skyrocketing home prices. As in Honolulu, the market is being driven by something other than owner-occupiers, specifically offshore investors in the case of Vancouver. While these investors, who come in wealthy and continue to make huge salaries outside of Canada, mostly buy luxury housing, it has the effect of raising housing prices across the market and geographically across the city, thereby affecting many middle- and lower-income Vancouverites as well.


2、悉尼：为什么悉尼如此昂贵？


Image © Wikimedia user Diego Delso licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

中等房价：1077000澳元
收入中位数：88000澳元
中位数倍数：12.2

排名第二的是悉尼是又一个澳大利亚城市，悉尼的平均倍数为12.2，这意味着每个家庭要不吃不喝12年才能买得起房。这里不像夏威夷或旧金山这样土地有限，其实澳大利亚并不缺土地。事实上，从住房成本方面，悉尼可以从各项权力下放中获益，新南威尔士770万人口中有480万以上居住在悉尼。城市政策试图通过增加现有住宅区的密度来限制城市蔓延，从而保护绿地。虽然当前的城市密度有一定益处，但其最显著的影响是土地价格上涨，从而导致房价上涨。悉尼的失业率很低，与其他城市一样，这些就业岗位的人口增长率并没有得到住房存量的满足，因为土地使用的限制使得人们很难满足需求。

2. Sydney: Why is Sydney so expensive?
Median Price: $1,077,000 AUD
Median Income: $88,000 AUD
Median Multiple: 12.2
Second place for the least affordable city goes Sydney, the second Australian city to make the top ten. Sydney’s mean multiple score of 12.2 means that on average a home costs over 12 years’ wages. Unlike areas with limited real estate like Honolulu or San Francisco, Australia certainly has no shortage of land, so that can’t be what’s driving prices. In fact, Sydney could benefit from more decentralization in terms of its housing costs, with more than 4.8 million of the 7.7 million people in all of New South Wales living in greater Sydney. This density is at least somewhat intentional however: the Demographia report cites urban containment as Sydney’s biggest problem in terms of affordability. Urban containment policies try to limit urban sprawl and protect greenfield land by encouraging density in existing housing areas. While there are benefits to urban density, its most notable effect in Sydney has been higher land prices and therefore higher home prices. Sydney also has the lowest unemployment rate of any state capital in Australia and like with other cities on the list, the increase in population created by these jobs is not being met by the housing stock, as the restrictions on land use are making it difficult to meet demand.


1、香港：为什么香港如此昂贵？


Image © Wikimedia user chensiyuan licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

中等房价：5422000港币
收入中位数：300000港币
中位数倍数：18.1

最后是一个也是最昂贵的城市——香港，这并不值得奇怪，这里甚至比排名第二的城市悉尼的倍数多出了6倍，实际上在去年，香港的倍数是19。许多因素的影响了香港的房地产的成本，包括无处不在的供应与需求限制，当然还有令人难以置信的高密度和土地稀缺。政府控制了大部分剩余的可开发土地，不幸的是没有太多因素能够降低香港的住房成本，因为这里的大量收入都来自土地销售。如果房地产价值下降，政府将失去收入，如果下降太多，政府甚至需要重新评估其税收制度。

1. Hong Kong: Why is Hong Kong so expensive?
Median Price: $5,422,000 HKD
Median Income: $300,000 HKD
Median Multiple: 18.1
And finally, the number one least affordable city, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Hong Kong by a long shot. Even compared to number two, Sydney, Hong Kong’s mean multiple score is almost 6 points higher at 18.1, which is actually down from 19 last year. Multiple factors influence Hong Kong’s housing costs, including the ubiquitous supply/demand refrain and, of course, the incredibly high density and scarcity of land. The Government controls and leases most of the remaining developable land, and unfortunately there’s not much incentive for the government to try to decrease the cost of Hong Kong’s housing because a large amount of its revenue comes from land sales, which allows the tax rate to remain so low. If property values were to drop, the government would lose revenue, and if they dropped too much, it could possibly even have to reevaluate its tax system.
        

出处：本文译自www.archdaily.com/，转载请注明出处。