中國家長爭買海外學區房

Chinese businessman Li Sheng is looking for a $900,000, four-bedroom home in Australia, where he hopes his two children will someday attend college. At this point, neither child has finished grade school -- one is still in diapers -- but Mr. Li hopes to buy a family home in Melbourne in the next year.

李勝和他的妻子目前居住在中國哈爾濱，他們正在澳大利亞墨爾本物色房產。他們希望，將來有一天，他們的兩個孩子（一個10歲大，一個8個月大）可以在墨爾本上大學。中國商人李勝（音）正在澳大利亞尋找一套價格在90萬美元、帶有四個臥室的住宅，他希望將來有一天他的兩個孩子能在澳大利亞大上學。現在，他的一個孩子還在上小學，另一個孩子還穿着尿布，但李勝希望明年就在墨爾本購買一套家庭住宅。

Mr. Li, who lives in Harbin, an industrial city in northern China, sees the purchase as a good investment in both his real-estate portfolio and his children's future. While China has plenty of universities, he and other affluent parents say they want their children to experience life abroad, where the educational system is less rigid. 'In Chinese families, the parents make the choice for their kids,' Mr. Li, 40, says. When his children get older, 'I don't want to make choices for them. I want them to do it themselves.'

李勝目前居住在中國東北工業城市哈爾濱，他認爲這既是對房地產、也是對孩子未來的一個很好的投資。雖然中國也有很多大學，但他和其他富有的家長表示，希望孩子體驗國外的生活，國外的教育沒有中國那麼死板。現年40歲的李勝說，中國的父母常常替孩子做決定。他說，等他的孩子長大後，他不想替孩子做決定，他希望孩子們自己做決定。

In an effort to increase the likelihood of their children studying abroad, a growing group of Chinese buyers is snapping up high-end real estate in college towns around the world. Some Chinese buyers are using the properties to meet the universities' residency requirements. Luxury homes also offer their children an upscale alternative to dorm life. Most important, many hope that real-estate purchases will help pay the costly university tuition.

爲了提高孩子在國外學習的可能性，越來越多的中國買家紛紛入手全球大學城的高端房地產。一些中國買家利用這些物業來滿足大學對居住的要求。此外，豪宅也可以給他們的孩子提供比住大學宿舍更好的選擇。最重要的，許多人希望投資房地產可以幫助支付孩子高昂的大學學費。

'Parents might buy several apartments, one for their child to study in and one to bring in an investment return,' says Andrew Taylor, co-CEO of , a Shanghai-based real-estate portal that features world-wide Property listings for Chinese home buyers.

Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal房地產經紀人布朗最近賣出了一套位於曼哈頓One 57大樓（如圖所示）的公寓，售價650萬美元。購買這套公寓的中國購房者希望，她2歲大的女兒將來有一天能用得上這套公寓。上海房地產門戶網站居外()的聯席首席執行長泰勒(Andrew Taylor)表示，家長可能會買下幾套公寓，一套給孩子上學時用，另一套用來獲取投資收益。居外主要爲中國買家提供全球各地的房地產信息。

A few months ago, Kevin Brown, a real-estate broker in New York, sold a $6.5 million, two-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath condo in Manhattan's One 57 building to a Chinese woman from Hong Kong. One reason for the purchase: Her daughter, who was 2 years old, could use the apartment if she decided to go to New York University or Columbia University, Mr. Brown says. For now, Mr. Brown says his client plans to rent out the unit and estimates she will earn a 3% return on her investment each year. 'Family and financial planning all mix into one,' Mr. Brown says. 'Where we have a one-year or three-year plan, they generally have a 20-year plan.'

幾個月前，紐約的房地產經紀人布朗(Kevin Brown)向一位來自香港的中國女士出售了一套公寓。這套公寓位於曼哈頓的One 57大樓，帶有兩間臥室、三個盥洗室（其中一間沒有淋浴設備），售價650萬美元。布朗說，這位女士的購房理由是，她的女兒（現在2歲）將來如果決定上紐約大學(New York University)或者哥倫比亞大學(Columbia University)，這套公寓可能會用得上。Brown表示，現在他的客戶計劃將公寓出租，估計每年的投資回報率在3%，這樣做同時兼顧了家庭和理財計劃，可謂一舉兩得。他說，在美國人們會制定一個1年或者3年計劃，但中國人通常都是制定20年計劃。

Since 1978, more than 2.6 million Chinese students have gone to school abroad, according to the latest statistics available from China's Ministry of Education. And the number of Chinese students studying abroad increased nearly 18% in 2012 compared with 2011. In a survey published last year, about 80% of high-net-worth Chinese individuals said they planned to send their children overseas to study, according to the Hurun Research Institute, which tracks China's wealthy individuals. At the same time, the cost of real estate in big cities such as Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai has skyrocketed, making a $1 million condo in Boston look like a relative bargain. 'In Beijing you can buy a home for about $600 a square foot,' says Patty Chen, founder of the PattyC Property Group, which helps Asian buyers find real estate in the U.S. 'In Boston, you can buy a home for about $400 a square foot.'

Weber Thompson計劃建設的24層公寓大廈1321 Seneca的效果圖。該大廈位於西雅圖First Hill附近，開發商在亞洲推銷該項目時稱這是適合學生的住宅項目。來自中國教育部的最新數據顯示，自1978年以來，有超過260萬中國學生赴海外留學。2012年，中國留學生數量較2011年增長了近18%。據追蹤中國富人的胡潤研究院(Hurun Research Institute)稱，去年公佈的一項調查顯示，約80%的中國富人表示他們計劃將孩子送到國外上學。與此同時，香港、北京、上海等大城市的房價一路飆漲，這讓波士頓一套100萬美元的公寓看上去相對不太貴。派蒂克房地產集團(PattyC Property Group)的創始人陳藝平(Patty Chen)表示，北京房價現在是每平方英尺約600美元（約合每平方米人民幣4萬元），而在波士頓，只要400美元就能買下一平方英尺（約合每平方米人民幣2.67萬元）。派蒂克房地產集團主要幫助亞洲人在美國找房子。

Developers, too, are catching on, marketing new units as student-friendly. In May, Dean Jones, owner of Realogics Sotheby's International Realty in Seattle, will travel to a Beijing luxury property show to market student-friendly real-estate projects, such as 1321 Seneca, a planned 24-story condo tower in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood, near downtown.

地產開發商也在迎合這種需求，推銷適合學生的新住宅。今年5月，西雅圖Realogics Sotheby's International Realty的公司所有人瓊斯(Dean Jones)將參加在北京舉行的一個豪華住宅展覽會以便推銷適合學生的住宅項目，比如1321 Seneca。該項目計劃建一座24層的公寓大廈，位於西雅圖First Hill附近，靠近市中心。

One of Mr. Jones's clients, a Chinese family from the Sichuan provinceince, is under contract to purchase an $8 million home outside Seattle. The 14,400-square-foot residence has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, and includes an indoor pool and 1,600 feet of riverfront. The parents, who both graduated from the University of Washington, have a newborn. The home is a gift from the man's father, who hopes the entire family will settle in Seattle, Mr. Jones says.

瓊斯的客戶中有一個來自四川的中國家庭。這家人已簽了合同，將在西雅圖城外購買一所價值800萬美元的住宅。這座面積達1.44萬平方英尺（約合1,338平方米）的住宅有五個臥室和八個盥洗室，還包括一個室內游泳池和長達1,600英尺（約合488米）的河岸。這家人中的父母均畢業於華盛頓大學(University of Washington)，目前有一個出生不久的孩子。瓊斯說，這所住宅是男主人父親贈送的禮物，因爲他希望一家人都在西雅圖安家落戶。

In downtown Boston, developers of the Millennium Tower, a 60-story building that will have 442 condos, plan to market the property this fall in Asia. The idea followed the success of Millennium Place, a luxury building in Boston that sold 25 condos to Chinese buyers -- many of whom bought units for their children's future use, says Leanne So of Bel & Well Property in Beijing.

位於波士頓市中心的千年塔(Millennium Tower)是一個60層的住宅項目，將有442套公寓。開發商計劃今年秋季在亞洲進行該項目的營銷。北京百富行房地產(Bel & Well Property)的Leanne So表示，開發商之所以想在亞洲推銷千年塔，是因爲之前波士頓的一個豪華住宅項目千禧名園(Millennium Place)取得了成功，向中國購房者賣出了25套公寓，其中不少人是買給孩子的。

Of course, there is always the chance that these Chinese children won't go to a university nearby, or that visas and residence permits won't come through. But many buyers still view the homes as long-term investments that can generate income. 'Even if their kids don't end up coming here, they're more likely to make a profit on renting or resale,' says William Montero, an agent at Gibson Sotheby's International Realty in Boston.

當然，總有可能出現這些中國孩子沒有在所購房產的附近上大學或簽證和居住證未獲批准的情況。但許多購房者仍將這些住宅視爲可以帶來收益的長期投資。Gibson Sotheby's International Realty在波士頓的經紀人蒙特羅(William Montero)表示，即便子女將來並沒有住到那裏，這些購房者也很有可能通過出租或轉售住宅獲利。

Recently, Mr. Montero sold a $2.6 million two-bedroom, two-bath condo to a Chinese woman with two children attending school in Boston -- one at Suffolk University and the other at Boston University. Four months later, she decided the apartment was too far away from Suffolk's campus, so she sold the condo for $2.9 million and bought a three-bedroom apartment for $2.4 million in a luxury building in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.

Bryce Vickmark for The Wall Street Journal據北京的房地產經紀人Leanne So稱，波士頓豪華住宅項目千禧名園向中國購房者賣出了25套公寓，其中不少人是買給孩子的。前不久，蒙特羅賣出了一套價值260萬美元、帶有兩個臥室和兩個盥洗室的公寓，買家是一位中國女士。這位女士有兩個在波士頓上學的孩子，一個就讀薩福克大學(Suffolk University)，另一個就讀波士頓大學(Boston University)。四個月之後，這位女士覺得這座公寓離薩福克大學太遠，就以290萬美元賣出了這套房子，並在波士頓的後灣(Back Bay)附近花240萬美元購買了位於一個豪華住宅樓中的帶有三個臥室的公寓。

She then asked Mr. Montero to show her other listings in the area, and ended up buying three additional properties: a $9.5 million single-family home, which she now rents out for about $30,000 a month, a $4.5 million home that rents for about $25,000 a month, and another unit on the same floor of her children's apartment, which cost $2.8 million. 'It all started with a place for her children,' Mr. Montero says. 'Now she considers the real estate a safe, protected asset.'

此後，這位女士讓蒙特羅向她提供該地區其他待售房產的信息，並最終購買了另外三處房產。其中一處是一座價值950萬美元的獨棟住宅，目前該女士以每月大約3萬美元（約合人民幣18.6萬元）的價格將其出租。另一處是價值450萬美元的住宅，該女士以每月大約2.5萬美元的價格將其出租。還有一處是與其兩個孩子所住公寓同一層樓的另一套公寓，價值280萬美元。蒙特羅說，這一切都始於爲孩子找一處房子，而現在這位女士認爲房地產是一種受保護的安全資產。