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.

　　美国的住房市场已经糟糕到了这个地步：为了支撑住房市场，两位参议员周四提出一项跨党派法案，该法案将向在美国至少斥资50万美元置业的外国人提供居留签证。

　　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.

　　这项规定是由纽约州民主党参议员舒默（Charles Schumer）和犹他州共和党参议员迈克•李（Mike Lee）联合提出的一整套移民举措的组成部分。这些举措旨在推动外国人在美国投资。

　　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.

　　在南佛罗里达州、南加州、亚利桑那州和其它遭重创的住房市场，外国人置业所占比重日益上升。其中来自中国和加拿大的买家不仅利用美国房价大幅下跌且来自美国人的竞争减少的机会，而且利用了美元以外的货币汇率上升的好处。

　　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.  

　　为了推动这一需求，两位参议员提出的这项法案将向至少出资50万美元购置住宅房地产的外国人提供签证，无论所购房产是独户住房、公寓还是联排别墅均可。申请人可以用全部资金买下一套房产，或是只花25万美元买下一套住宅，将剩余资金投资其它住宅地产以供出租。

　　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.

　　这项举措将是对现有签证项目的补充。现有签证项目规定，如果外国人投资设立能够创造就业的新企业，那么他们将被允许进入美国。支持这项举措的人认为，在美国许多潜在购房人犹豫不决之际，此举有助于吸收过剩的存量住房。美国购房人所以犹豫不决，或是出于对工作的担心，或是因为他们必须大幅折价出售现有住房才能购买新房。

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

　　参议员舒默在采访中说，此举可在无需联邦政府付出任何代价的情况下创造更多需求。

　　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.

　　美国全国地产经纪商协会（National Association of Realtors）的数据显示，在截至今年3月的一年中，国际购房人在美国住宅地产销售额中大约占到820亿美元，而此前一年这一数字只有660亿美元。地产数据追踪商MDA DataQuick的数据显示，今年7月外国买家在迈阿密所有房屋销量中所占比重至少达到5.5%，在凤凰城，这一比例为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.

　　通过这种方式移民到美国的外国人无法在美工作，除非他们通过正常程序获得工作签证。他们可以携带配偶以及任何不满18岁的子女来美，但一旦他们卖掉房产，就无法凭借这种签证合法留在美国。

　　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.

　　该规定涉及的签证将和当前项目分开，所以不会影响到任何一位已经在等待签证的人。此类签证的数量没有上限。

　　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.

　　据全美地产经纪商协会的数据，过去一年中，加拿大人占了外国购房者的四分之一，而中国、墨西哥、英国和印度的购房者加起来又占了四分之一。佛罗里达州弗隆滩房地产中介达利(Sally Daley)说，对于来自一些国家的购房者来说，限制性移民规定无疑阻碍了他们在美国购房。她估计，今年经她手售出的房屋约有三分之一是由外国人买走的，为目前为止最高比例。

　　“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.”

　　达利说，假如没有外国人，我们会陷入停滞。他们开始雇承包商、买家具，还令库存减少，进而帮助市场调整。

　　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，达利把一个装有门控的社区中一座有四个卧室的度假房卖给了来自加拿大安大略省雷克湖的莫里森(Harry Morrison)。莫里森说，房价开始下滑，你还可以在汇率上占很大便宜。四年前，莫里森首次在弗隆滩买了一座房子。

　　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.”

　　尽管特别签证可以使莫里森这样的加拿大人更多地呆在美国，但他说，他不知道签证还能给他带来其他什么好处。

　　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.

　　这种想法难倒了包括巴菲特(Warren Buffett)在内的一些知名度很高的支持者。巴菲特今年夏天提出了鼓励更多富有的移民买房的想法。巴菲特今年8月接受美国公共广播公司(PBS)主持人罗斯(Charlie Rose)采访时说，如果你愿意调整移民政策，让50万户拥有相当大资产净值的家庭移民美国，你会很快解决问题。

　　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.

　　抵押贷款债券发起人拉涅利(Lewis Ranieri)说，放宽移民规定还可能帮助转变购房者的心态。他说，这个项目代表了楼市的“治疗类选法”，目前的楼市需要更多的解决措施，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.”

　　不过，其他业内高管对此提议表示质疑。Realogy Corp.首席执行长史密斯(Richard Smith)说，外国购房者不需要鼓励来购房。该公司拥有Coldwell Banker 和21世纪不动产(Century 21)房地产品牌。他说，我们有很多美国人想要买房，我们只是需要把经济搞好。

　　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.

　　特别签证可能会在加州圣马利诺等越来越受外国人青睐的高端市场产生更具针对性的效果。当地房地产中介纳瓦罗(Maggie Navarro)说，鉴于很多中国购房者在获得签证方面遭遇的困难，更宽松的移民规定可能产生巨大的影响。

　　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.”

　　纳瓦罗最近把一座房子以167万美元的价格卖给了一位从事矿业的中国人，较开价高了约8%。她说，她在圣马利诺挂牌出售的房屋几乎每套都至少收到了一位中国内地买家的现金全款出价。