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German property firms
德國房地產公司
Safe as houses
非常安全
The residential-property business is growing and consolidating
住宅地產商業正在擴大合并
THE British are obsessed with property ownership, but Germans, by and large, are happy to rent.
英國人對房地產所有權很癡迷，但是德國人一般更喜歡租房子。
The European Union's biggest economy also has its lowest rate of owner-occupied housing, and the highest proportion of people living in homes rented at market prices.
歐洲最大的國家對業主自住房屋有著最低的利率，以及最高比例居住以市價出租房屋的人口。
That is why rising rents, not rising house prices, were a theme in Germany's recent elections, with even the conservative Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union showing sympathy for some kind of rent brake.
這也是為什么提高租金而不提高房屋價格會成為近期德國選舉的一個主題，甚至是保守的基督教民主聯盟和基督教社會聯盟都對出租阻礙表示同情。
Germany's renter-heavy housing market has unique historical and cultural causes—and interesting consequences.
德國以租客為主的房地產市場有其獨特的歷史和文化的原因—以及有趣的結果。
Much housing has been owned by state or city governments, or public-sector firms like Deutsche Bahn, the national railway.
許多房地產是國家或者市政府所有，或者是像國營鐵路德國聯邦鐵路那種公共部門公司所有。
Germans have usually put their savings into banks rather than homes.
德國人通常都把他們的積蓄存在銀行而非花在房屋上。
But the gradual privatisation of Germany's housing stock has led to the emergence of unusual beasts: big, stockmarket-listed property firms which mainly rent out homes, not offices or shops.
但是德國住宅逐漸私有化引來了不同尋常的野獸：主營住房出租而非辦公室或店鋪出租的大型上市地產公司。
Two of the biggest will soon become one: this week GSW Immobilien said it had agreed to a takeover by Deutsche Wohnen.
德國兩家最大的地產公司不久將會合并：這周GSW Immobilien表示該公司已經同意由Deutsche Wohnen公司來接管。
If the deal goes ahead, the combined company will be one of Europe's largest listed property firms, along with Deutsche Annington, another German residential landlord, which floated on the stockmarket in July.
如果這項交易順利進行，這個合并的公司將會成為歐洲最大的上市房地產公司，接著是7月份上市的另一家德國住房地產公司Deutsche Anniington。
Most of Europe's other property giants deal mainly in commercial premises.
歐洲大多數其他房地產巨頭主營商業樓宇。
The two merging firms have big portfolios in Berlin.
兩家即將合并的公司在柏林有很大的投資。
Of their combined 150,000 flats, about 108,000 are in the capital region.
在他們合并的15萬套公寓中有10.8萬套位于首都圈地區。
So in contrast to many mergers, there is a good chance of achieving the promised cost savings.
因此與許多合并公司相比，還有很大獲得預期成本節約的機會。
For the deal to go through, 75% of GSW's shareholders must accept it.
對于即將進行的這項交易，Gsw75%的股東一定會接受。
Many may conclude that it is a good time to sell: rents in Berlin, having risen sharply, are likely to be flat in the near future, reckons David Eckel, a consultant and lobbyist for housing developers and owners.
許多人推斷這是賣出的最好時機：房地產開發商和業主顧問及說客David Eckel認為，急劇上升的柏林房屋租金在不就的將來很可能趨于平緩。
A bigger company should be better equipped to thrive in a heavily regulated business.
大型公司要更好地準備以便能在嚴重受管制的商業中蓬勃發展。
For example, the government has many requirements for the energy efficiency of new buildings, something smaller landlords have a harder time coping with.
例如，政府對新建筑的能源效率提出了許多要求，這是小業主很難處理的問題。
The larger German companies should also find it easier to negotiate deals on big and prominent development sites, says Yolande Barnes of Savills, a London-based property consultant.
總部在倫敦的房地產顧問第一太平戴維斯的Yolande Barnes說，大型德國公司也會發現在大型有前途的開發項目上，他們更容易面談協商。
Philip Charls of the European Public Real-Estate Association notes that many Germans are queasy about the idea of treating housing as a speculative investment.
歐洲公共房地產協會的Philip Charls表明，許多德國人對于把房地產作為投機投資的想法很反感。
But the current low interest rates, which the local financial press moans about daily, are driving Germans to seek creative ways to earn returns.
但是當地財經媒體每天抱怨當前低利率驅使德國人去尋找新的方法來獲得回報。
Bigger housing companies, like the merged Deutsche Wohnen-GSW, should provide liquid investments, offering attractive and fairly predictable yields.
大型房地產公司，如合并的Deutsche Wohnen—GSW，應該提供引人而又預計有利可圖的短期投資。
However, in the financial crisis many Germans lost money on failed savings vehicles which, without them realising it, had invested in commercial property.
然而，在金融危機中，許多德國人在失敗的儲蓄產品中虧了本，把錢投資在了商業地產上。
Publicly quoted firms that rent flats to families should be a safer investment.
面向家庭出租房屋的上市公司可能是一種更安全的投資。
But those who got burned on property last time may take some convincing.
但是那些剛在房地產事業上遭受損失的人可能要有一些有說服力的證據。
