10英镑，买伦敦骑士桥的公寓?
伦敦骑士桥(Knightsbridge)通常不是买便宜商品的地段，但今年幸运的购房者或许能以10英镑的价格买到沃顿街(Walton Street)上的一个三卧室公寓——该公寓估值超过300万英镑。
All he or she need do is beat a few hundred thousand other hopefuls in a cricketing “spot-the-ball” competition. As well as a share of the freehold, the winner of the property will have stamp duty paid and receive a matte-black Jeep.
这名幸运儿需要做的是，在板球形式的“寻找移动的球”(spot-the-ball)比赛中打败成百上千名其他竞争者。除了得到房屋所有权以外，胜出者的购房印花税也将被代付，同时获得一辆哑光黑色的吉普(Jeep)车。
“It’s a sexy house,” says Santa Agolli, founder of Your Laddr, which is organising the competition. “It’s next to Harrods, it’s a dream lifestyle.” This property event is launching her business: Your Laddr will eventually offer a range of homes through the same form of competition.
比赛组织方Your Laddr的创始人桑塔•阿果里(Santa Agolli)说：“这是一套很有魅力的住宅。它毗邻哈罗德百货公司(Harrods)，这是一种梦幻般的生活方式。”此次竞猜房产活动也是阿里果公司的启动项目：Your Laddr最终将通过同样模式的比赛出售一系列住宅。
“For 10 quid, why not have a go?” asks Noel De Keyzer, director of Savills’ local office. The average sale price of Knightsbridge flats in 2017 was just over £3m, with houses close to £5m, according to data from LonRes. The 1 in 380,000 chance offered by Your Laddr might be more appealing than ponying up the actual costs.
“仅需10英镑，为什么不试一试?”房地产集团第一太平戴维斯(Savills)骑士桥营业部主管诺尔•德•凯泽尔(Noel De Keyzer)表示。研究公司LonRes提供的数据显示，2017年骑士桥地区公寓的平均售价高于300万英镑，独栋住宅的平均售价则接近500万英镑。因此，Your Laddr提供的38万分之一的机会相对于全额支付房款或许更有吸引力。
“So long as the scheme involves a sufficient element of skill, judgment or knowledge, ‘spot-the-ball’ competitions can operate lawfully in the UK without the need for an operating licence,” says David Copping at Farrer & Co, the law firm. He adds, however, that if prizes can be awarded on the basis of pure luck or guesswork, the competition is likely to be subject to regulation by the Gambling Commission.
律师事务所Farrer & Co的大卫•柯平(David Copping)表示：“只要整个比赛设计需要用到足够多的技巧、判断或知识元素，‘寻找移动的球’比赛就能在英国合法进行，而无需额外申请运营许可。”但他补充称，如果奖项归属完全基于运气或者猜测，则这种比赛很可能将受到博彩委员会(Gambling Commission)监管。
Local agents describe the competition as a gimmick, but vendors may be open to new ideas. Prices are down 15 per cent since 2014, according to LonRes, and homes that did sell last year spent an average of 157 days on the market, with 45 per cent having their prices cut.
骑士桥当地的代理商们认为这场比赛是骗人的把戏，但房屋卖家或许会对新创意持开放态度。LonRes提供的数据显示，自2014年以来，该地区住宅价格已累计下跌了15%，而去年实际售出的住房在市场上的平均挂牌时间长达157天，并且其中有45%下调了售价。
Like other affluent London neighbourhoods, Knightsbridge has been hit by what De Keyzer calls “Osborne’s changes” — the stamp duty reforms introduced by the former chancellor, which first raised the bill on properties costing more than £937,500 and then added a 3 per cent premium to all second homes. “People have not adjusted to the changes we’ve seen over the past 18 months,” he says. “[The vendors] might not have been able to shift the apartment the conventional way.”
和其他富裕的伦敦街区一样，骑士桥受到了德•凯泽尔所谓的“奥斯本冲击”——前任财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)推动的印花税改革首先提高了售价高于93.75万英镑房产的印花税率，此外还对第二套住宅额外征收3%的印花税。“人们还没有针对我们在过去18个月中所经历的变化做出调整。”他说，“房屋卖方或许不能再仅靠传统方式卖出住宅。”
“As a buyer you can’t afford to make a mistake if you’re paying 10-15 per cent in stamp duty,” says Harry Dawes, head of Knight Frank’s Knightsbridge office. The caution has been palpable among Knight Frank’s customers: “At the peak of 2014 we were averaging 18 viewings per offer, now it’s around 45,” says Dawes.
“作为买家，如果你需要支付10%至15%的印花税，选错房子的成本将是难以承受的。”莱坊驻骑士桥营业部主管哈里•道斯(Harry Dawes)称。这种谨慎情绪在莱坊的客户中表现得非常明显。“2014年行情最火爆的时候，我们平均每个挂牌房源有18组客户看房，现在则有约45组。”道斯称。
“Our register in the Knightsbridge office has never been so low,” says De Keyzer. “We’ve seen transaction numbers at the top end [on properties valued at £5m and above] down by 40 to 50 per cent.”
“我们在骑士桥登记的交易数量从未像现在这么少。”德•凯泽尔说，“目前高端房产(价值500万英镑以上的房产)的交易数量下降了40%至50%。”
Discretionary buyers have been discouraged by the stuttering market and many have become renters until confidence returns. Buying agent Camilla Dell has an alternative explanation: “Knightsbridge is not the desirable postcode it once was,” she says. “A lot of my clients say Knightsbridge has lost a lot of its gloss.” Even Middle Eastern buyers — so established in the area that Harrods is now an asset of the Qatari state — are venturing to the garden squares of Belgravia and Mayfair, she says.
疲软低迷的市场形势打击了非刚需型购房者的热情，很多人转而选择租房，等待市场信心恢复。购房代理人卡米拉•戴尔(Camilla Dell)对此有另一种解释：“骑士桥已经不再是过去那个令人向往的居住区了。”她说，“我的很多客户都认为骑士桥已经失去了往日的光彩。”即便中东地区的购房者也开始涉足贝尔格拉维亚(Belgravia)的花园广场和梅费尔区(Mayfair)的房产，而中东地区客户在骑士桥地产界的地位是如此重要，以至于哈罗德百货现已成为卡塔尔的国有资产。
Before the downturn, Knightsbridge had been on a streak. The area straddles Kensington & Chelsea and the City of Westminster — the two best-performing markets in the UK from 2005-2015, according to Savills Residential Research. During that decade, prices there rose 80 per cent or more.
在陷入下行走势以前，骑士桥的地产价格曾经持续上涨。该地区横跨肯辛顿-切尔西区(Kensington & Chelsea)和威斯敏斯特市(City of Westminster)，第一太平洋戴维斯住宅研究公司(Savills Residential Research)提供的数据显示，2005至2015年间，这两个地区的房产价格在整个英国境内涨幅最高。在这十年间，这两个地区的房价涨幅达到甚至超过了80%。
One reason for the boom was a series of super-prime developments, such as The Knightsbridge, 201 residences near Hyde Park. Today, a one-bedroom flat in the development is on sale for £3.495m — more than £4,000 per square foot — with Harrods Estates.
导致这种繁荣局面的一个原因在于一系列超高端住宅开发项目的推出，例如骑士桥公寓(The Knightsbridge)，这个包含201套住宅的楼盘毗邻海德公园(Hyde Park)。这个开发项目中的一间单卧室公寓目前正以349.5万英镑的价格在房产代理公司Harrods Estates挂牌出售——每平方英尺售价超过4000英镑。
The Knightsbridge was followed in 2011 by One Hyde Park, a Candy brothers development which launched at a headline-grabbing £6,000 per sq ft. “The reputation of One Hyde Park is still head and shoulders above anything else,” says Simon Barry, head of New Residential Developments at Harrods Estates. Dell is less flattering, describing it as “a goldfish bowl”.
继骑士桥公寓之后，海德公园一号(One Hyde Park)又于2011年推出，这是坎迪(Candy)兄弟开发的项目，发售价格高达每平方英尺6000英镑，引发媒体热议。Harrods Estates的新住宅开发部门主管西蒙•巴里(Simon Barry)表示：“海德公园一号的知名度仍然远远高于任何其他楼盘。”戴尔对海德公园一号的评价则没有这么高，称其是“一个金鱼缸”。
The address certainly commands a premium, with a five-bedroom apartment marketed for £50m by Knight Frank. A number of apartments in the development are owned by offshore companies — at last count, it was reported that 20 have purchased homes there in excess of £20m.
海德公园一号相对其他开发项目无疑存在溢价，目前莱坊正在销售的一套五卧室公寓标价5000万英镑。该住宅开发项目中的数套公寓由离岸公司所有——截至上一次统计，海德公园一号声称有20位客户购买了售价超过2000万英镑的住宅。
Transaction volumes in Knightsbridge have fallen 36 per cent from 2014 levels, according to LonRes, and even a small bounce back last year, when some 26 more homes were sold than in the year before, has done little to raise morale among local agents. For now, finding a ball might be easier than finding a buyer.
LonRes提供的数据显示，骑士桥地区的房产交易数量较2014年的水平萎缩了36%，即便去年出现了小幅反弹——出售住宅数量较上年增长了约26套——也无助于提振该地区房产销售代理们的士气。现如今，寻找移动的球或许比找到买家更容易。
Buying guide 购房指南
Transaction volumes in Knightsbridge have fallen 36 per cent from 2014 levels, when 318 homes were sold, according to LonRes. In 2017, just 202 changed hands LonRes
提供的数据显示，骑士桥地区的房产交易量与2014年相比下跌了36%，2014年该地区共有318套住宅售出。2017年交易成功的房产数量仅202套。
Two-thirds of students at Imperial College in Knightsbridge are from overseas. Agents report an increase in buyers — particularly from China — looking for high-end student accommodation
伦敦帝国学院(Imperial College London)骑士桥校区的学生中，有三分之二来自海外。房产代理报告称，寻找高端学生住所的买家数量增多——特别是来自中国的买家。
Hyde Park barracks, home of the Household Cavalry, was earmarked for development, but failure to find a home for the mounted regiment stalled plans
海德公园军营是皇家骑兵团(Household Cavalry)的驻地，未来这里将进行房地产开发。但开发计划因未能给皇家骑兵团找到新的驻扎营地而延期。
What you can buy for . . .
你能买到什么?
£1m A one-bedroom flat opposite Harrods
100万英镑可以在哈罗德百货对面买到一间单卧室公寓
£7.5m A five-bedroom penthouse in a listed building
750万英镑可以在属于受保护建筑的大楼中买到一套五卧室顶层公寓
£20m A four-bedroom new-build townhouse
2000万英镑可以买到一栋新建成的四卧室联排别墅
More homes at propertylistings.ft.com 译者/何黎
