Study after study finds Hong Kong is the world's most expensive housing market - by a lot.

項項研究顯示香港是全世界房價最高的地方，比其他地方貴很多。

According to one recent survey, the median home here costs 18 times the gross annual median income.

最近一項調查顯示，香港房價的中位值比全球年度收入的中值高出 18 倍！

So on average, if you're making $50,000 a year you need to set aside $900,000 to afford your own home.

因此平均而言，如果一年賺 5 萬美元，就必須存 90 萬美元才能擁有自己的房子。

Oh, and that assumes you're putting no money aside for food, travel, shopping, entertainment, your daily commute and even the occasional aerial yoga class.

噢，這個前提是不包含飲食、旅遊、購物、娛樂、通勤，以及偶爾參加的空中瑜珈課程之費用。

You're basically putting all the money you made under a mattress for 18 years straight.

根本就是把所有錢都放在床墊底下整整 18 年。

And don't get me started on inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, stagnant wages, rising costs of living, time-value of money...You get the point.

更別提通貨膨脹、浮動的匯率、不變的薪水、只漲不跌的生活費、金錢的時間價值......你懂我的意思。

So why is Hong Kong housing so expensive?

所以為何香港房價這麼貴？

Let's take a look.

我們來一探究竟。

On one hand, it's a simple game of supply and demand.

一方面來說，這是一個簡單的供需問題。

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

香港是全球人口密度最高的地區之一。

It's comprised of more than 200 islands.

香港是由超過 200 個島嶼所組成的。

Most of them uninhabitable.

大多數是無法居住的。

Now add in 7,346,248 people and you get an apartment like this, costing you about $3,500 per month.

接著加上 7,346,248 位居民，然後你住的公寓就會長這樣，每個月還收 3,500 美元的租金。

That could get you this home in France or even this mansion in Nebraska.

同樣的錢可以讓你在法國租間房子，或甚至在內布拉斯加州 (美國中西部的一州) 租間豪宅了。

Hong Kong is one of the world's financial hubs and the de facto access point to the world's most populous country, China.

香港是全世界的金融中心之一，也是實際上進入人口最密集的中國之管道。

There's very little developable land here, and a large part of it is controlled by the government.

這裡可開發的土地很少，且很多的土地都是公有地。

Hong Kong's government offers land to developers by tender.

香港政府以招標的方式將土地賣給開發商。

It's done all behind the scenes and whoever bids highest wins.

一切買賣都不公開，反正出價最高的就得標。

But it's not as simple as it sounds.

但真相沒那麼簡單。

Land isn't put up for sale very often.

土地不常出售。

And, in addition to it being limited to begin with.

光開始出售就不容易。

The city still needs to hold on to the limited green space it has and preserve heritage and historical sites.

市區內還要維持有限的綠地空間，以及保存歷史古蹟。

The government also controls nearly half of the total supply of housing here through public housing rentals.

藉由公營住宅的出租，政府還掌握了近一半的住宅供給。

And assisted home ownership purchase programs which are intended for lower income families.

並協辦「居者購屋計畫」，打算幫助較低收的家庭。

That means those competing in the private property market are really just fighting for half the entire supply of housing.

意味著私有房產市場只能爭奪一半的住宅供給。

The land that is sold to developers is selling for record amounts, increasingly to Chinese mainland developers which in turn are likely to command record high prices for buyers, just perpetuating the cycle of expensive housing.

賣給開發商的土地數量創下空前的紀錄，越來越多中國本地的開發商轉而開始炒房價，創下歷史新高，使昂貴的房價更加居高不下。

It's also no secret Hong Kong is one of the most tax-friendly economies in the world.

香港是全球稅收最善良的地區之一，這已是公開的秘密。

And one of the reasons the government can afford to keep taxes so low is because a large chunk of its revenue comes from land sales.

之所以可以壓低稅收，是因為國家的收入很多來自於土地買賣的營收。

So, if property values drop, the government can't make as much money.

所以如果房價下跌，政府就無法賺這麼多。

Which means there's little incentive to seriously curb the cost of housing here.

也就是說政府認真壓低房價的動機就沒這麼高。

In fact, if property values dropped too much, the government may even have to completely rethink its financial system.

事實上，如果房價跌太多，政府可能就要重新思考其金融體系的組成。

I said earlier the median home cost in Hong Kong is 18 times higher than gross annual median income.

我剛剛提到，香港房價的中位值比年度收入的中位值高出 18 倍。

The second most unaffordable city is Sydney, coming in at just 12.2 times median income.

第二高的是雪梨，其房價中位值是收入中位值的 12.2 倍。

Then it's Vancouver at 11.8 times and even London and New York pale in comparison.

接著是高於 11.8 倍的溫哥華，連倫敦跟紐約都相形見絀。

So, for the foreseeable future, Hong Kong housing will continue soaring above the rest.

因此，近期內香港的房價依然會高居不下。

In Hong Kong, Uptin Saiidi, CNBC.

我是 Uptin Saiidi，這是來自 CNBC 在香港的報導。