正文
岁）的母亲就一直催促她买房。这位珠宝销售员在台湾省台北市郊区租了一套月租金
425
美元大约相当于两个停车位大小的公寓。她和丈夫还有两只猫住在一起。
Her parents think that “
only a house you own can really be a home
”
, she says. But Ms Jao is reluctant to become a wu nu, or
“
housing slave
”
, she says. That is slang for young homebuyers who feel trapped by their expensive mortgages.
她说，父母认为
“
只有自己拥有的房子才能算是真正的家
”
。但冰女士表示，她不愿成为
“
房奴
”
。
“
房奴
”
一词是用来描述那些因高昂房贷而感觉身陷囹圄的年轻购房者的一种非正式用语。
Taiwan
’
s youngsters are not
exaggerating
when they call homeownership a burden. House prices on the island are
exorbitant
. In Taipei, median house prices are 16 times the median income. That is a higher ratio than New York (9.8), London (14), or Seoul (13). It is not much better outside the capital.
台湾的年轻人将拥有房产视为一种负担，这一点也不夸张。岛上的房价高得离谱。在台北，房价中位数是收入中位数的
16
倍。这一比例高于纽约（
9.8
）、伦敦（
14
）和首尔（
13
）。省会之外的情况也好不到哪里去。
The United Nations considers a housing price-to-income ratio of three to be affordable. But Taiwan’
s national average is 11. Even its cheapest city, Keelung, has a ratio of 6.5. The average Taiwanese household spent nearly half of their disposable income on mortgage payments in the second quarter of 2024. In Taipei, they spent more than 70%.
联合国认为，房价与收入之比为
3
才算是可负担的。但台湾的全省平均水平为
11
。即使是房价最便宜的城市基隆，这一比例也达到了
6.5
。
2024
年第二季度，台湾家庭平均将近一半的可支配收入用于支付房贷。在台北，这一比例更是超过了
70%
。
Taiwan has long promoted homeownership in line with traditional Chinese beliefs that land equals wealth and security, says Chang Chin-oh, a retired academic.
