翻译研究 | “炒房”与house flipping

“房子是用来住的,不是用来炒的”这句话被官方媒体译为Houses are built to be lived in, not for speculation。将“炒房”归于speculation,即“投机”没有问题,但另一个与其意思近似的表达house flipping与“炒房”有差异,不宜如下图中那样翻译。
“炒房”与house flipping
http://www.gamersky.com/news/201703/877450.shtml两则house flipping的定义:Flipping is a term used to describe the process of purchasing an asset, most commonly real estate, and then selling it for a profit. This quick-profit strategy usually involves buying property at a discount as a foreclosure or fixer-upper, rehabbing the property, and selling it for more than invested.

(https://rehabfinancial.com/flipping-houses-101)

Many people assume that they can simply 1) buy a house, 2) apply a fresh coat of paint3) trim some bushes, and then 4) resell the home at a profit. Unfortunately, this process, which is referred to as "flipping", is not that easy.

(https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/flippers.asp#ixzz5DAbfOzxX)

根据《韦氏词典》,house flipping中的flip对应释义为:

“炒房”与house flipping
虽然本质上house flipping也是短时间内将房屋低价买入,高价卖出,但与“炒房”的差别依然明显,最主要的就是house flipper会对低价买入的房屋进行修缮(rehabbing the property)。此外,导致房屋价格较低的因素包括取消赎回权(fore-closure)或房屋需要维修(这样的房屋被称为fixer-upper)。这也是house flipping与“炒房”的一个区别:house flipper买入的低价房屋是低于正常价格的。与中国的“炒房”行为不同,这种投资方式不仅不依赖房地产市场走势,还是一种可以抵消房地产市场波动的投资方式:

Instead of relying on market fluctuations, you could earn a profit by flipping houses.(http://www.greenresidential.com/3-real-estate-investment-strategies-arent-profitable-sound/)

最后,house flipping需要投资者具有一定的投资眼光,在众多房屋中找到最具升值潜力的。炒房人虽然也需要考虑投资对象的价值,但并不需要对所购房屋进行细致、深入的考量,看准大的地段甚至城市就会出手。简而言之,house flipping要精细一些,而“炒房”更宏观

正是因为house flipping是个“技术活”,这项投资还被拍成了电视节目,比如Flip or Flop(下图),该节目内容为购买失去或即将失去赎回权的房子(distressed property)并对其进行修缮。

“炒房”与house flipping
综上,house flipping虽然也是依靠短期房屋买卖赚取差价,但不含贬义,与我国目前打击的“炒房”有区别,尤其体现在是否对投资房屋进行修缮。网上有译法为“房屋翻新转手”,比较恰当。如需简练翻译时,house flipping或可译为“旧房投资”,而针对文章开始提到的游戏名称,house flipper可译为“拯‘旧’房屋”或“房屋拯‘旧’者”
(中国翻译研究院)