在哈佛附近买房比上哈佛更难
For centuries, Harvard University was the only show in town in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a prosperous enclave just over the Charles river from Boston.
哈佛大学几百年来在马萨诸塞州的坎布里奇(Cambridge, Massachusetts)一枝独秀，坎布里奇这块繁荣兴旺的“福地”与波士顿隔查尔斯河(Charles river)相望。
Today, with an endowment of $37.6bn (the largest in the world) and a yearly tuition fee of $63,025 (among the highest in the US), Harvard is home to one of the largest populations of affluent young people in the US.
如今，哈佛大学总共获得376亿美元的捐款（冠绝全球），每年收取每个学生的学费高达6.3025万美元（在美国也是数一数二），使其成为全美国有钱年轻人最扎堆的地方。
In fact, the only thing harder than getting into Harvard — which this year accepted only 5.2 per cent of applicants, a record low — might be finding a property nearby. In March, the median price of a home in Cambridge reached $2.22m, up a dizzying 45.9 per cent from March 2015, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
事实上，在难度上唯一能胜过入读哈佛的事可能要算是就近找房了。今年哈佛的录取比例只有5.2%，为史上最低。根据麻省房地产经纪人协会(Massachusetts Association of Realtors)的统计：坎布里奇今年三月的房价中位价达222万美元，同比飚涨了45. 9%。
“[The university] is an economic powerhouse that directly affects real estate values in this town,” says Stephen Rankin, an estate agent with Remax Destiny. “The rise in property prices here is almost directly linked to the rise of Harvard’s place on the national academic map.”
“哈佛大学是直接影响坎布里奇房价走势的火车头。” Remax Destiny房屋经纪人史蒂芬•兰金(Stephen Rankin)说。“这里房价涨幅差不多直接关联哈佛大学在全美高校的排名。”
Yet over the past 12 months the sharp rise in home values has also been driven by the city’s dramatically changing economic landscape.
然而，推动过去一年房价飚升的另一大因素是坎布里奇日新月异的经济格局。
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical businesses are joining technology companies in opening offices in Cambridge in an effort to attract young talent from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the city’s other leading university.
生物科技与制药公司正连同高科技公司一起在此安营扎寨，其目的旨在吸引哈佛以及另一知名学府麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)的青年才俊。
Amazon, the online retailer, has a 100,000 sq ft office in the city while technology group Google is expanding its footprint there by 40,000 sq ft. Fellow tech companies Microsoft and IBM have bases in Cambridge and, like pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Novartis, employ large numbers of people in the city.
在线零售巨擎亚马逊(Amazon)在此设有10万平方英尺的办公区域，而高科技公司谷歌(Google)正扩建4万平方英尺的办公场所。其同行微软(Microsoft)与IBM在此也建有科研基地，它们与制药业巨子辉瑞(Pfizer)以及诺华(Novartis)一样，雇佣了大量当地员工。
“These new companies are bringing high-paying jobs here and really driving the high end of this property market,” says Christian Jones, a broker in the Cambridge office of real estate services provider Compass.
“这些新扎营的公司创造了大量高收入职位，真正带动了本地高端房屋的行情。”Compass房屋经纪公司坎布里奇分部中介克里斯蒂安•琼斯(Christian Jones)说。
Cambridge was first settled by English Puritans in the 1600s, and swiftly became a centre of academic excellence. Harvard — and its law school — has educated seven US presidents, beginning with John Adams (class of 1755) up to Barack Obama.
坎布里奇是17世纪英国清教徒在美洲大陆的首个定居地，并很快发展成为优质教育资源的中心。从1755级的约翰•亚当斯(John Adams)到奥巴马(Barack Obama)，哈佛大学及其法学院总共培养了七位美国总统。
In the early 1900s Franklin D Roosevelt was a cheerleader for the college football team.
20世纪初，富兰克林•罗斯福(Franklin D Roosevelt)曾是大学橄榄球队的拉拉队长。
A series of squares — more like major street intersections than leafy parks — mark out the city’s densely populated, culturally distinct neighbourhoods, and are a boon to outsiders attempting to navigate its diverse property market.
一连串的广场（与其说它们是绿树成荫的公园，倒不如说更象一个个主交叉路口）把坎布里奇人口稠密、文化风格迥异的各个街区划分得一目了然，对于想弄清楚各种楼市行情的外来者来说，它们着实是个好帮手。
Harvard Square, the triangular plaza near the centre of Cambridge, is generally seen as the city’s hub. On the doorstep of Harvard’s 200-acre campus, the neighbourhood is filled with bookstores and bustling cafés. Teeming with students and commuters, it is one of the city’s most popular tourist stops and is much sought after by homebuyers.
哈佛广场(Harvard Square)是紧邻坎布里奇市中心的一个三角形状广场，它通常被视为整座城市的中心。它位于哈佛大学占地200英亩的校园大门口，这里云集各种书店以及人头攒动的咖啡屋。哈佛广场到处是大学生及上班族，是坎布里奇最知名的旅游景点，也是购房族趋之若鹜的地方。
A three-bedroom home near Harvard Square is for sale for $2.38m through Coldwell Banker. The 2,600 sq ft house has four full bathrooms and a large sitting room leading to a private garden.
科威国际不动产(Coldwell Banker)推出的一套毗邻哈佛广场的三卧住宅，售价高达238万美元。这套面积2600平方英尺的住宅有4个卧室，还有一个直通私家花园的大客厅。
A dwindling number of homes for sale remains the biggest challenge for buyers in Cambridge, says Gail Roberts of Coldwell Banker, with the market at its tightest since the housing boom in 2006.
自2006年房地产大行情启动以来，这里的房源越来越供不应求，楼市买家们面临的最大问题依然是坎布里奇渐趋减少的待售房屋，科威国际不动产经纪人盖尔•罗伯茨(Gail Roberts)说。
“New home listings sell in about a week,” she says, adding that several years of low inventory and rising prices have made the real estate market in Cambridge the toughest in decades. “Homes in desirable areas can sell in a day or two.”
“新上市的房屋大约一周就能卖掉。”她说，“持续几年的低库存与房价上涨造就了坎布里奇几十年以来最为紧俏的楼市行情。“黄金地段的房屋一两天就被抢购一空。”
Just west of the Harvard campus on Brattle Street, a 10-bedroom home is on sale for $10.5m through Sotheby’s International Realty.
在西临哈佛大学校园的普雷多街(Brattle Street)上，苏富比国际房地产(Sotheby’s International Realty)推出的一套10卧住宅售价高达1050万美元。
Built in 1888, the 8,300 sq ft, colonial revival property sits on about half an acre of land. The house has a wood-panelled salon with carvings by Lockwood de Forest, a furniture designer who was a leader of the 19th-century aesthetic movement.
这套面积8300平方英尺、全面翻新的殖民风格豪宅始建于1888年，坐落于约半英亩的土地上。豪宅的客厅用实木护墙板装饰，上面是19世纪唯美主义运动(aesthetic movement)的先驱、家具设计大师洛克伍德•德•福雷斯特(Lockwood de Forest)的雕刻作品。
Other districts seeing increased activity from buyers include North Cambridge — near the suburban towns of Arlington and Belmont — and Kendall Square, the centre of Cambridge’s technology and biotechnology industries.
买家纷至沓来的其它地段还包括毗邻郊区城镇阿灵顿(Arlington)与贝蒙特(Belmont)的North Cambridge以及坎布里奇高科技及生物科技云集之地肯德尔广场(Kendall Square)。
Buying guide
购房指南
Harvard is the oldest higher education institution in the US, established in 1636
哈佛是美国历史最悠久的高校，始建于1636年。
Cambridge has a population of just over 107,000; 26 per cent are students
坎布里奇人口超过10.7万人，其中26%为大学生。
No restrictions on foreign buyers
外国买家购房没有任何政策限制。
It is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the US, with an extensive cycle network
坎布里奇是美国自行车最为普及的城市，建有四通八达的自行车线路。
What you can buy for . . .
实际购买力
$500,000 A two-bedroom condominium in Harvard Square
50万美元可在哈佛广场购买一套2卧公寓房；
$1m A four-bedroom home in the North Cambridge neighbourhood
100万美元可在North Cambridge一带购买一套四卧住宅；
$10m A newly renovated, seven-bedroom house near Harvard Square
1000万美元可在哈佛广场购买一套翻新的七卧豪宅；
