《纽约时报》在CATTI考试的出题来源中扮演重要角色。今天我们选择了一篇关于房地产问题的文章，供大家学习！

Rising Tower Emerges As a Billionaires’ Haven

    One57, a 1,004-foot tower under construction in Midtown Manhattan, will soon hold the title of New York’s tallest building with residences. But without fanfare from its ultraprivate future residents, it is cementing a new title: the global billionaires’ club.

The buyers of the nine full-floor apartments near the top that have sold so far — among them two duplexes under contract for more than $90 million each — are all billionaires, Gary Barnett, the president of the Extell Development Company, the building’s developer, said this week. The other seven apartments ranged in price from $45 million to $50 million.

The billionaires’ club includes several Americans, at least two buyers from China, a Canadian, a Nigerian and a Briton, according to Mr. Barnett and brokers who have sold apartments in the building, at 157 West 57th Street. Mr. Barnett said that at least a few buyers were “significant Forbes billionaires.”

Since late last year, the “trophy” end of New York’s real estate market has been recording eye-popping sales that seem to have little basis in reality. The signed contract for the nearly-11,000-square-foot duplex on the 89th and 90th floors of One57 that sold for about $95 million topped  the record sale in March of a penthouse at 15 Central Park West to a Russian billionaire’s daughter for $88 million. In June, Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino magnate, paid $70 million for a duplex penthouse apartment above the Ritz-Carlton.

Individual sales aside, it is the sheer concentration of wealth in One57, a $1.5 billion development, that is raising the eyebrows of some longtime market watchers.

“The scale of wealth in this building is just unheard of,” said Jonathan J. Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a property appraiser. “Despite all the problems economically, you are seeing these people invest in real estate unlike in any period that has ever happened.”

Since sales began in the building in November, Extell has signed contracts for more than $1 billion worth of apartments, about $300 million just this summer, Mr. Barnett said. Fewer than 40 of the 92 apartments remain unsold, among them four full-floor units. But Mr. Barnett said two potential buyers from China were “circling” one of them.

The cost of entry into the club now exceeds $50 million for the remaining full-floor apartments, Mr. Barnett said.

Last week, after Extell provided a reporter with an exclusive look at the 360-degree views that the owners of the full-floor apartments will experience when they are able to move in late next year, it was not hard to understand the appeal of One57.

The construction elevator took six minutes to ascend 850 feet to an apartment on the 85th floor. (It will take 30 seconds for the residents’ three elevators to reach the top, Extell officials said.) The 6,240-square-foot apartment was bought by an American who already owned “some of the best real estate in the world,” including two “very significant” places in New York, said Nikki Field, the Sotheby’s International Realty broker who represented the buyer.

For now, the apartment is just bare walls and concrete. Orange netting hangs in place of what will be floor-to-ceiling windows.

The building seems almost centered along the south end of Central Park. From the apartment’s main living room, the park seems to roll out like a giant green carpet. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the Bronx. To the east, planes can be seen taking off from La Guardia and Kennedy Airports. The Atlantic Ocean pokes out over the horizon. To the northwest, the gentle bend in the Hudson River is visible. Closer in, you can see the grassy terrace of the $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West.

To the south, a resident standing in what will be a bathroom with his-and-hers showers and toilets will look out on the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center complex and the Statue of Liberty , not to mention the electronic billboards in Times Square.

Mr. Barnett spent 15 years assembling the property and air rights on 57th Street. In the end, his timing was lucky. As New York has emerged from the downturn, high-end real estate has become a magnet for the world’s superrich, who are looking for better investment returns and a safe haven from thornier economic conditions in their home countries.

One57 has at least a two-year head start on newer developments vying for the billionaire set, like 432 Park Avenue, which is expected to be almost 400 feet taller than One57 when it is completed in 2016.

The steady sales have allowed Mr. Barnett to turn away a few potential buyers when negotiations have gotten sticky. There was Nick Candy, a developer of another billionaire enclave, One Hyde Park in London. Negotiations broke down after Mr. Barnett refused to give Mr. Candy the right to flip an apartment before construction was completed, according to e-mails between the men. Mr. Barnett also decided not to sell to Michael Hirtenstein, a millionaire entrepreneur, after Mr. Hirtenstein paid a One57 construction worker to shoot a video that he said revealed that his view on the 47th floor would be partly blocked by the neighboring Essex House sign. And Mr. Barnett said he passed up a full-floor sale to a potential buyer who wanted to do major renovation without allowing Extell to assist in the construction and ease the inconvenience for other residents.

“I can’t tell you I would be so principled if I was having a hard time selling,” Mr. Barnett said. “We are not desperate to sell at all costs.”


纽约新摩天大楼吸引全球富豪
 

One57是曼哈顿中城正在建设的一栋1004英尺（合306米）高的大楼，很快就将赢得纽约最高住宅楼的盛名。尽管其十分低调的未来住户不会大肆庆祝，但这栋大楼也有了一个新称号：全球亿万富翁俱乐部。

这栋大楼的开发商，Extell开发公司(Extell Development Company)总裁加里·巴尼特(Gary Barnett)本周表示，到目前为止，靠近顶层的整层公寓已售出九套，其中包括两套每套售价超过9000万美元的复式公寓，另外七套公寓的价格从4500万美元到5000万美元不等。这些已售出公寓的买主，全都是亿万富翁。

这栋大楼位于西57街157号。巴尼特和售出过公寓的经纪人透露，纽约这个“亿万富翁俱乐部”中包括几名美国人、至少两名来自中国的买家、一名加拿大人、一名尼日利亚人和一名英国人。巴尼特说，至少有一些买主是“福布斯富豪榜里的显赫人物”。

去年年底以来，纽约超高端地产市场产生了令人瞠目结舌的优异销售成绩，高得似乎完全脱离了现实基础。One57第89/90层的复式公寓面积将近1.1万平方英尺（合1022平方米），签约价格为9500万美元，突破了3月的一笔交易所创下的记录，当时，一位俄罗斯亿万富翁的女儿，以8800万美元的价格购得了中央公园西路15号的顶层公寓。今年6月，拉斯维加斯赌场大亨史蒂夫·韦恩(Steve Wynn)曾出资7000万美元，购得丽思卡尔顿酒店(Ritz-Carlton)上的顶层复式公寓。

撇开那些单笔销售不谈，One57这个成本15亿美元的开发项目令一些长期关注市场的人士所惊叹的，是其中聚集的大量财富。

“这栋楼里聚集的财富规模前所未闻。”房地产评估企业米勒萨缪尔公司(Miller Samuel)的总裁乔纳森·J·米勒(Jonathan J. Miller)说，“尽管当前经济存在很多问题，但是仍能看到有人以过去任何时期都没有过的方式，投资房地产。”

巴尼特称，这栋大楼去年11月开盘以来，Extell已签约的公寓总价值超过10亿美元，单单今年夏天就有约3亿美元。92套公寓中，只有不到40套仍未售出，其中包括4套整层公寓。不过巴尼特说，两名来自中国的潜在买主正在考虑这四套整层公寓中的一套。

巴尼特说，购买剩下的整层公寓的“俱乐部”门槛，目前超过5000万美元。

上周，Extell为一名记者提供了一次独家体验的机会，使他能感受到整层公寓的全方位视野，买主将在明年年底入住后得到同样的体验。经过这次体验后，也就不难理解One57的吸引力。

建筑升降机抵达位于85层，距地面260米高的公寓用了6分钟。（Extell官员说，住户用的三台电梯只需要30秒就能抵达顶层。）为买主提供代理的苏富比国际房地产(Sotheby’s International Realty)经纪人尼基·菲尔德(Nikki Field)透露，这套6240平方英尺（合560平方米）的公寓已经被一位“在全世界拥有一些顶级房产”的美国人买下，他的这些房产中包括纽约两处“十分卓越”的地点。

现在，这套公寓徒有四壁和混凝土架构，在将会成为落地窗的地方，现在还挂着橙色的建筑网。

这栋大楼位于中央公园(Central Park)南侧的中部。站在公寓的主起居室俯瞰，中央公园就像巨幅的绿色地毯向远处铺开。在晴朗的日子向远处眺望，可以一眼望到布朗克斯。向东，可以看到飞机从拉瓜迪亚机场(LaGuardia Airport)和肯尼迪机场(Kennedy Airport)起飞。大西洋也出现在远处的地平线上。在西北方，可以看到哈德逊河柔和的曲线。近处，还能看到中央公园西路15号，售价8800万美元的顶楼公寓上，青草茵茵的露台。

住户站在双淋浴、双马桶的卫生间的位置向南看，帝国大厦(Empire State Building)、世贸中心(World Trade Center)旧址、自由女神像(Statue of Liberty)尽收眼底，当然还有时报广场(Times Square)上闪烁的电子广告牌。

巴尼特花了15年时间收集57街上地产的产权和空间权。最后，他抓住了时机。随着纽约走出低谷，这里的高端房地产吸引了全世界的超级巨富，他们都在寻找更高的投资回报率，也在寻找躲避本国更加棘手的经济状况的安全港。

One57比其他争夺亿万富翁客户的较新开发项目至少领先了两年，如公园大道432号。后者预计将在2016年竣工，会比One57高400英尺（合122米）。

由于销售业绩稳定，所以在谈判变得棘手时，巴尼特回绝了几个潜在的买家。其中包括尼克·坎迪(Nick Candy)，他是另一个针对亿万富翁的地产项目，伦敦海德公园一号(One Hyde Park)的开发商。两人之间的电子邮件显示，巴尼特不允许坎迪在公寓竣工前就转手，因此谈判破裂了。富翁企业家迈克尔·希尔滕斯坦(Michael Hirtenstein)买通One57的一名建筑工人拍摄了一段视频，他说这段视频显示，他在47层上的视野会被埃塞克斯酒店(Essex House)的标牌挡住一块。此后巴尼特决定不把公寓卖给希尔滕斯坦。巴尼特称，他还回绝了整层楼的销售。那名潜在买主希望做大规模的装修，但又不允许Extell在施工中提供协助，以便缓解其他住户的不便。

“要是不好卖的话，我肯定不会告诉你，我要如此坚持原则。”巴尼特说，“我们不会急迫地卖掉房产而不顾代价。”