The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S.

　　美國的住房市場已經糟糕到了這個地步：為了支撐住房市場，兩位參議員周四提出一項跨黨派法案，該法案將向在美國至少斥資50萬美元置業的外國人提供居留簽證。

　　The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S.

　　這項規定是由紐約州民主黨參議員舒默（Charles Schumer）和猶他州共和黨參議員邁克•李（Mike Lee）聯合提出的一整套移民舉措的組成部分。這些舉措旨在推動外國人在美國投資。

　　Foreigners have accounted for a growing share of home purchases in South Florida, Southern California, Arizona and other hard-hit markets. Chinese and Canadian buyers, among others, are taking advantage not only of big declines in U.S. home prices and reduced competition from Americans but also of favorable foreign exchange rates.

　　在南佛羅里達州、南加州、亞利桑那州和其它遭重創的住房市場，外國人置業所占比重日益上升。其中來自中國和加拿大的買家不僅利用美國房價大幅下跌且來自美國人的競爭減少的機會，而且利用了美元以外的貨幣匯率上升的好處。

　　To fuel this demand, the proposed measure would offer visas to any foreigner making a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate─a single-family house, condo or townhouse. Applicants can spend the entire amount on one house or spend as little as $250,000 on a residence and invest the rest in other residential real estate, which can be rented out.  

　　為了推動這一需求，兩位參議員提出的這項法案將向至少出資50萬美元購置住宅房地產的外國人提供簽證，無論所購房產是獨戶住房、公寓還是聯排別墅均可。申請人可以用全部資金買下一套房產，或是只花25萬美元買下一套住宅，將剩余資金投資其它住宅地產以供出租。

　　The measure would complement existing visa programs that allow foreigners to enter the U.S. if they invest in new businesses that create jobs. Backers believe the initiative would help soak up an excess supply of inventory when many would-be American home buyers are holding back because they're concerned about their jobs or because they would have to take a big loss to sell their current house.

　　這項舉措將是對現有簽證項目的補充。現有簽證項目規定，如果外國人投資設立能夠創造就業的新企業，那么他們將被允許進入美國。支持這項舉措的人認為，在美國許多潛在購房人猶豫不決之際，此舉有助于吸收過剩的存量住房。美國購房人所以猶豫不決，或是出于對工作的擔心，或是因為他們必須大幅折價出售現有住房才能購買新房。

　　“This is a way to create more demand without costing the federal government a nickel,” Sen. Schumer said in an interview.

　　參議員舒默在采訪中說，此舉可在無需聯邦政府付出任何代價的情況下創造更多需求。

　　International buyers accounted for around $82 billion in U.S. residential real-estate sales for the year ending in March, up from $66 billion during the previous year period, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Foreign buyers accounted for at least 5.5% of all home sales in Miami and 4.3% of Phoenix home sales during the month of July, according to MDA DataQuick.

　　美國全國地產經紀商協會（National Association of Realtors）的數據顯示，在截至今年3月的一年中，國際購房人在美國住宅地產銷售額中大約占到820億美元，而此前一年這一數字只有660億美元。地產數據追蹤商MDA DataQuick的數據顯示，今年7月外國買家在邁阿密所有房屋銷量中所占比重至少達到5.5%，在鳳凰城，這一比例為4.3%。

　　Foreigners immigrating to the U.S. with the new visa wouldn't be able to work here unless they obtained a regular work visa through the normal process. They'd be allowed to bring a spouse and any children under the age of 18 but they wouldn't be able to stay in the country legally on the new visa once they sold their properties.

　　通過這種方式移民到美國的外國人無法在美工作，除非他們通過正常程序獲得工作簽證。他們可以攜帶配偶以及任何不滿18歲的子女來美，但一旦他們賣掉房產，就無法憑借這種簽證合法留在美國。

　　The provision would create visas that are separate from current programs so as to not displace anyone waiting for other visas. There would be no cap on the home-buyer visa program.

　　該規定涉及的簽證將和當前項目分開，所以不會影響到任何一位已經在等待簽證的人。此類簽證的數量沒有上限。

　　Over the past year, Canadians accounted for one quarter of foreign home buyers, and buyers from China, Mexico, Great Britain, and India accounted for another quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. For buyers from some countries, restrictive immigration rules are “a deterrent to purchase here, for sure,” says Sally Daley, a real-estate agent in Vero Beach, Fla. She estimates that around one-third of her sales this year have gone to foreigners, an all-time high.

　　據全美地產經紀商協會的數據，過去一年中，加拿大人占了外國購房者的四分之一，而中國、墨西哥、英國和印度的購房者加起來又占了四分之一。佛羅里達州弗隆灘房地產中介達利(Sally Daley)說，對于來自一些國家的購房者來說，限制性移民規定無疑阻礙了他們在美國購房。她估計，今年經她手售出的房屋約有三分之一是由外國人買走的，為目前為止最高比例。

　　“Without them, we would be stagnant,” says Ms. Daley. “They're hiring contractors, buying furniture, and they're also helping the market correct by getting inventory whittled down.”

　　達利說，假如沒有外國人，我們會陷入停滯。他們開始雇承包商、買家具，還令庫存減少，進而幫助市場調整。

　　In March, Ms. Daley sold a four-bedroom vacation home in a gated community to Harry Morrison, a Canadian from Lakefield, Ontario. “House prices were going down, and you could still make a lot of money on the exchange rate,” said Mr. Morrison, who first bought a home in Vero Beach four years ago.

　　今年3月，達利把一個裝有門控的社區中一座有四個臥室的度假房賣給了來自加拿大安大略省雷克湖的莫里森(Harry Morrison)。莫里森說，房價開始下滑，你還可以在匯率上占很大便宜。四年前，莫里森首次在弗隆灘買了一座房子。

　　While a special visa would allow Canadian buyers like Mr. Morrison to spend more time in the U.S., he said he's not sure “what other benefit a visa would give me.”

　　盡管特別簽證可以使莫里森這樣的加拿大人更多地呆在美國，但他說，他不知道簽證還能給他帶來其他什么好處。

　　The idea has some high-profile supporters, including Warren Buffett, who this summer floated the idea of encouraging more “rich immigrants” to buy homes. “If you wanted to change your immigration policy so that you let 500,000 families in but they have to have a significant net worth and everything, you'd solve things very quickly,” Mr. Buffett said in an August interview with PBS's Charlie Rose.

　　這種想法難倒了包括巴菲特(Warren Buffett)在內的一些知名度很高的支持者。巴菲特今年夏天提出了鼓勵更多富有的移民買房的想法。巴菲特今年8月接受美國公共廣播公司(PBS)主持人羅斯(Charlie Rose)采訪時說，如果你愿意調整移民政策，讓50萬戶擁有相當大資產凈值的家庭移民美國，你會很快解決問題。

　　The measure could also help turn around buyer psychology, said mortgage-bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri. He said the program represented 'triage' for a housing market that needs more fixes, even modest ones.

　　抵押貸款債券發起人拉涅利(Lewis Ranieri)說，放寬移民規定還可能幫助轉變購房者的心態。他說，這個項目代表了樓市的“治療類選法”，目前的樓市需要更多的解決措施，即使力度不是很大的措施。

　　But other industry executives greeted the proposal with skepticism. Foreign buyers “don't need an incentive” to buy homes, said Richard Smith, chief executive of Realogy Corp., which owns the Coldwell Banker and Century 21 real-estate brands. “We have a lot of Americans who are willing to buy. We just have to fix the economy.”

　　不過，其他業內高管對此提議表示質疑。Realogy Corp.首席執行長史密斯(Richard Smith)說，外國購房者不需要鼓勵來購房。該公司擁有Coldwell Banker 和21世紀不動產(Century 21)房地產品牌。他說，我們有很多美國人想要買房，我們只是需要把經濟搞好。

　　The measure may have a more targeted effect in exclusive markets like San Marino, Calif., that have become popular with foreigners. Easier immigration rules could be “tremendous” because of the difficulty many Chinese buyers have in obtaining visas, says Maggie Navarro, a local real-estate agent.

　　特別簽證可能會在加州圣馬利諾等越來越受外國人青睞的高端市場產生更具針對性的效果。當地房地產中介納瓦羅(Maggie Navarro)說，鑒于很多中國購房者在獲得簽證方面遭遇的困難，更寬松的移民規定可能產生巨大的影響。

　　Ms. Navarro recently sold a home for $1.67 million, around 8% above the asking price, to a Chinese national who works in the mining industry. She says nearly every listing she's put on the market in San Marino “has had at least one full price cash offer from a buyer from mainland China.”

　　納瓦羅最近把一座房子以167萬美元的價格賣給了一位從事礦業的中國人，較開價高了約8%。她說，她在圣馬利諾掛牌出售的房屋幾乎每套都至少收到了一位中國內地買家的現金全款出價。