To buy houses in Spain

在中國買不起房？不如去西班牙買個村吧

Zài Zhōngguó mǎibúqǐ fáng？Bùrú qù Xībānyá mǎigè cūn ba

To buy houses in Spain

來自英國的買家正在西班牙農村大肆搶購房產,因為這里的價格是英國半獨立式房子均價的五分之一.這些投機房產的商人正在利用西班牙經濟危機,購買當地人已買不起的房產.

British buyers are snapping up entire villages in Spain for a fifth of the price of the average semi-detached home here. Property bargain-hunters are making the most of Spain's economic crisis to buy homes locals can no longer afford to keep.

很多小村莊的房子已經在一個家庭的手中保留了好幾代了,但是很多情況下,他們的居住者都已經搬遷到了城市中,而那些房子很多都年久失修了.由于支付不起維護或是維修費用,這些房子很多都正在被低價掛牌出售.地產代理商說百分之八十的房子都被外國人購買了,而其中三分之一是英國人.

Most of the tiny villages have been in the hands of the same families for generations, but in many cases their inhabitants have moved away to urban areas and the houses have fallen into disrepair. Unable to afford to maintain or restore them, they are being sold at knockdown prices. Estate agents say 80 per cent are being bought by foreigners--- and a third of buyers are British.

尼爾•克里斯蒂是兩個孩子的父親,他在西班牙農村西北部的一個具有田園詩意的地區買下了一處叫阿魯納達的村莊,只花費了4.5萬歐元,即3.9萬英鎊（約為36萬人民幣）.根據最新的房產注冊部門統計,這個價格只有英國半獨立式房子平均價格的五分之一,在英國半獨立式房子的價格為20.1萬英鎊.即使在他已完全翻修后,他預計在這個項目中的花費仍舊沒有超過1.4萬英鎊.

Father-of-two Neil Christie bought the hamlet of Arrunada in an idyllic corner of rural north west Spain for just 45,000 euros---or £39,000. That is just a fifth of the price of the average semi-detached house in Britain, at £201,427, according to the most recent Land Registry statistics. Even after he has totally renovated the four dilapidated properties, he expects to have spent no more than £140,000 on the project.

地產代理商拉斐爾•卡內爾說,買家一般都是一些五六十歲的中產階級夫婦,他們正在為他們退休后的生活尋找一些房子.他的商業伙伴佩佩•雷迪奧說,西班牙的家庭正在賣掉他們的房子,因為他們已經沒有足夠的錢去維持這些房產,而且這些已經搬去城市的家庭認為搬回鄉村就是在"退步".他說："外國人正在填補這些空缺.我很高興看著這些已經倒下的村莊又重新被修補.因為看到他們變成廢墟會讓我很傷心."

Buyers tend to be middle class couples in their 50s or 60s looking for somewhere for their retirement, said estate agent Rafael Canales. His business partner Pepe Rodil said Spanish families were selling up because they no longer had the money to maintain the properties and because who had moved away to towns and cities saw returning to the countryside as 'a backwards step'. He said, "Foreigners are filling the gap. I'm happy to see villages which were falling down being renovated. It makes me sad to see them in ruins."

詞語解釋：

當地人 （dāngdì rén） reverse

失修 （shīxiū） disrepair

統計 （tǒngjì） statistics

中產階級 （zhōngchǎn jiējí） middle class

廢墟 （fèixū） ruins

(Source: myechinese.com)