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去年澳大利亚房价上涨 3%。分析师认为超低利率、澳大利亚政府的刺激措施以及应对疫情得当，都提高了房地产行业的信心。
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全文共 691 个词，by Jamie Smyth in Sydney
Australian house prices rose 3 per cent last year, defying economists’ dire forecasts that housing could lose up to a fifth of its value because of the coronavirus pandemic.
去年澳大利亚房价上涨了 3%，推翻了经济学家对房价跌幅或因新冠高达 20%的可怕预测。
Analysts credited ultra-low interest rates, government stimulus and the government’s adept handling of Covid-19 for boosting confidence in the housing sector.
分析师认为超低利率、澳大利亚政府的刺激措施以及对疫情的应对得当，都提高了房地产行业的信心。
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As the virus spread across Australia in March and April, residential property sales fell 40 per cent, causing prices to dip 2.1 per cent by September.
去年 3 月和 4 月，随着新冠病毒在澳大利亚各地蔓延，住宅销售下降了 40%，导致房价在去年 9 月前下跌 2.1%。
But a surge in buying activity in the fourth quarter bolstered a rebound, particularly outside Australia’s eight largest cities, with regional home values rising 6.9 per cent in the 12 months to end December.
但去年第四季度购房活动的激增支撑了房价的反弹，尤其是在澳大利亚 8 个最大城市以外的地区。去年一年，地方上的房价上涨了 6.9%。
House values increased 2.7 per cent in Sydney but fell 1.3 per cent in Melbourne, which endured a 112-day lockdown to blunt a Covid-19 outbreak. Apartment values also rose 0.2, compared with a 2.6 per cent increase in house values across Australia’s main cities, reflecting a shift towards lower density housing, according to data published on Monday by Corelogic, a research group.
悉尼的房价上涨了 2.7%，但墨尔本的房价下跌了 1.3%，后者为抑制新冠疫情实施了 112 天的封锁。研究机构Corelogic周一发布的数据显示，公寓价格也上涨了 0.2%，而澳大利亚各主要城市的房价上涨了 2.6%，反映出居住密度降低的趋势。
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“Record-low interest rates played a key role in supporting housing market activity, along with a spectacular rise in consumer confidence as Covid-related restrictions were lifted and forecasts for economic conditions turned out to be overly pessimistic,” said Tim Lawless, Corelogic research director.
Corelogic研究总监蒂姆·劳利斯（Tim Lawless）表示：“在支持房地产市场活动方面发挥了关键作用的是创纪录的低利率，此外还有消费者信心的大幅上升，后者是因为疫情相关限制得到解除，以及此前对经济状况的预测被证明过于悲观。”
“Containing the spread of the virus has been critical to Australia’s economic and housing market resilience,”he added.
他还说：“遏制病毒的蔓延对澳大利亚经济和房地产市场的复苏至关重要。”
The strength of Australia’s property prices has been mirrored across other developed economies, with UK house prices rising 7 per cent in 2020 and New Zealand enjoying even faster growth in home values. Analysts said the trajectory of prices was critically important for Australia’s economy, with the rate of household debt to income above 200 per cent.
澳大利亚房地产价格的强势走势在其他发达经济体也得到了映照，英国房价在 2020 年上涨 7%，新西兰房价的涨幅甚至更大。分析人士表示房价走势对澳大利亚经济至关重要，目前澳大利亚家庭债务与收入之比超过 200%。
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Economists warned in March the damage caused by nationwide lockdowns risked falls of up to 20 per cent in Australian house prices, inflicting heavy losses on the country’s banks.
去年 3 月，经济学家警告称，澳大利亚为抗击疫情而实施的全国封锁所造成的损害，可能导致澳大利亚房价下跌最多 20%、令该国银行业蒙受巨大损失。
But decisions by the Reserve Bank of Australia to slash interest rates to a record low of 0.1 per cent and the government to unleash more than A$250bn （$192.5bn） in stimulus have boosted the economy, limiting unemployment to 6.8 per cent.
但是，澳大利亚央行（Reserve Bank of Australia）将利率下调至 0.1%的创纪录低点的决定，以及政府出台的逾 2500 亿澳元（合 1925 亿美元）的刺激措施，提振了该国经济，将失业率控制在了 6.8%。
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Australia’s decision early in the pandemic to close its international borders and impose strict lockdowns has been praised by health experts for limiting the number of deaths and successfully suppressing the spread of coronavirus. This in turn enabled life to return to normal in many Australian states, although a recent outbreak in New South Wales and Victoria remains a cause for concern for authorities.
澳大利亚在新冠大流行早期就决定关闭国际边境并实施严格封锁，这一决定受到了卫生专家的赞扬，因为这些举措限制了新冠死亡人数，并成功遏制了新冠病毒的传播。这反过来使澳大利亚许多州的生活得以恢复正常，尽管新南威尔士州和维多利亚州近期爆发的疫情仍令当局感到担忧。
Shane Oliver, an economist at AMP Capital who in March forecast house prices could fall by up to 20 per cent, said the property market had performed far stronger than initially expected when the pandemic first struck. He said that average prices will rise 5 per cent in 2021 .
去年 3 月曾预测澳大利亚房价最多可能会下跌 20%的安保资本（AMP Capital）经济学家沙恩·奥利弗（Shane Oliver）表示，房地产市场的表现远好于外界在大流行爆发之初做出的预期，并表示，2021 年该国平均房价将上涨 5%。
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However, Mr Oliver warned that the outlook was widely divergent across Australia’s cities, within cities and between apartments and houses. Renewed Covid-19 lockdowns and a collapse in immigration because of border restrictions posed important risks to home values, he added.
然而，奥利弗警告称，澳大利亚各城市之间、城市内各区域之间以及公寓和住宅之间在前景上存在巨大差异。他补充说，再度实施的抗疫封锁、以及边境限制导致的移民数量骤降，都对房屋价值构成了重大风险。