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財經板塊
Housing: Hot property
住房：炙手可熱的房地產
Institutional investors are snapping up family homes
機構投資者正在搶購家庭住宅
Housing is the world’s biggest asset class.
住房是世界上最大的資產類別。
But until recently renting out family homes was a mom-and-pop cottage business, seen as uninvestable by Wall Street.
但一直以來，出租家庭住房都是華爾街視為不可投資的小生意，這種情況直到最近才有所改變。
When Blackstone, a private-equity giant, floated the idea of creating vast portfolios of homes after the global financial crisis of 2007-09, banks refused to lend to it.
當私募股權巨頭黑石集團在2007-2009年全球金融危機后提出構建大量住房投資組合的想法時，銀行拒絕向其放貸。
The firm ran the idea by Sam Zell, a property mogul who sold Blackstone his $39bn office empire before the financial crisis.
該公司的想法來源是房地產大亨山姆·澤爾，他在金融危機前將其價值390億美元的辦公帝國賣給了黑石集團。
“No way,” he retorted.
“不可能，”他反駁道。
For an investor routinely splurging on hotel chains and swanky office towers, the buy-to-let business seemed like small fry by comparison.
對于一個經常在連鎖酒店和豪華寫字樓上揮霍的投資者來說，買房出租業務似乎微不足道。
Blackstone went ahead despite Mr Zell’s advice.
黑石不顧澤爾的建議繼續推進。
A decade on from the first purchase in Phoenix, Arizona—an outlay worth $100,000—the experiment has morphed into an institutional-grade asset class.
自從該公司首次在亞利桑那州鳳凰城花費10萬美元購買房產以來，十年過去了，這個實驗已經演變成了一個機構級的資產類別。
Last year interest in the sector reached fever pitch.
去年，人們對該行業的興趣達到了狂熱的程度。
According to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a research firm, big investors committed at least $45bn to buying single-family homes in America, up from $3bn the year before.
研究公司約翰·伯恩斯房地產咨詢公司稱，大型投資者為在美國購買獨棟住宅調撥了至少450億美元，而前一年調撥的資金為30億美元。
Even as housing markets cool, investment is pouring in, with firms including Goldman Sachs and KKR following in Blackstone’s footsteps.
即使房地產市場降溫，投資仍源源不斷地涌入，高盛集團和KKR集團等公司也在追隨黑石的腳步。
It is easy to see why.
原因顯而易見。
Between 2016 and 2021, annual returns from family rentals (of 21%) have outperformed those of housing for old folk (7%), offices (5%), shopping malls (-1%) and even apartments (12%), according to Green Street, another research firm.
另一家研究公司Green Street的數據顯示，從2016年到2021年，家庭租賃的年回報率(21%)超過了老年人住房(7%)、寫字樓(5%)、購物中心(-1%)，甚至還超過了公寓(12%)。
In the past decade, the value of homes owned by institutions has doubled to $4.7trn, a figure that towers over the estimated value of America’s offices, at $1.9trn.
在過去十年間，機構擁有的房屋價值翻了一番，達到了4.7萬億美元，超過了美國寫字樓1.9萬億美元的估值。
Unlike mom-and-pop investors, who tend to own no more than a handful of homes, the biggest institutions hold tens of thousands, which are offered renovated and have around-the-clock maintenance.
不同于通常只擁有幾套住房的散戶投資者，最大的機構擁有數萬套住房，它們能夠享受翻新和全天候的維護服務。
Invitation Homes, America’s largest family landlord, says it spends an average of $39,000 fixing up each one, kitting them out with new flooring, upgraded plumbing and the latest tech, such as video doorbells and smart locks.
美國最大的家庭房東Invitation Homes稱，平均每棟房子要花3.9萬美元來裝修、安裝新地板、升級管道和最新技術，比如視頻門鈴和智能鎖。
These goodies are attracting richer tenants.
這些好東西正在吸引更富有的租戶。
Between 2010 and 2018, those with incomes of above $75,000 accounted for three-quarters of the growth in renters.
2010至2018年間，收入超過7.5萬美元的人占到了新增租戶的四分之三。
Covid-19 accelerated this, as bidding wars forced high-earners to rent.
在競標戰迫使高收入者租房之際，新冠肺炎又助長了這一趨勢。
Invitation Homes says its residents now have an annual household income of above $131,000, nearly twice the country’s median.
Invitation Homes稱，其住戶目前的家庭年收入在13.1萬美元以上，幾乎是美國中值的兩倍。
There is plenty of room for further expansion.
進一步擴張的空間很大。
In America, real-estate investment trusts (REITS) own just 1% of single-family rentals, compared with 5-10% of offices and warehouses, 15% of housing for old people and 50% of shopping malls.
在美國，房地產投資信托基金(REITS)在獨戶住宅租賃市場僅占1%，相比之下，寫字樓和倉庫的占比為5%-10%，老年人住房的占比為15%，購物中心的占比為50%。
Big investors are also starting to build more, rather than just buying up existing stock.
大型投資者也開始建造更多的房屋，而不僅僅是購買現有的房屋。
Last year, they built a record 7,705 family units, up from an average of 5,500 in 2015-20.
去年，他們創下紀錄，建造了7705套家庭住房，高于2015-2020年5500套的平均水平。
By 2030, MetLife Investment Management, an asset manager, expects institutions to have amassed 7.6m homes, more than two-fifths of all family rentals.
資產管理公司大都會人壽投資管理公司預計，到2030年，各大機構將積攢760萬套住房，占所有家庭租賃住房數量的五分之二以上。
