[(Title)] Down £3.6bn in TWO WEEKS: The roof falls in on housebuilders as fears around interest rate rises grow

Britain's ten biggest builders have seen the value of their shares drop by a combined £3.6 billion in the last two weeks as fears grow that the housing market is heading for a downturn.

过去两周，英国十大建筑商股价累计下降了36亿英镑，因为人们担心房地产市场正走向衰退。

Fears of a rise in interest rates – and mortgage costs – are growing after three members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted in favour of a hike.

英格兰银行货币政策委员会三位成员投票赞成加息后，利率和抵押贷款成本上涨的恐惧情绪正在增加。

Bosses at housebuilding firms have cashed in over the past 12 months, with payouts to senior executives running into tens of millions of pounds.

在过去的12个月里，房屋建筑公司的老板已经兑现了现金，高管的支出高达数千万英镑。

A downturn in share prices in the sector would provoke fresh criticism of managers who have already been accused of making hay due to low interest rates and taxpayer subsidies for the industry, rather than their own skill and merit.

该行业股价的低迷将引发对经理们的新批评，这些批评将基于他们低利率和纳税人对该行业的补贴，而不是他其技能和功绩而干涸。

'There is a fear that interest rate rises could be on the way,' said Clyde Lewis,

刘易斯(Clyde Lewis)说，人们担心利率的上升会持续下去。

an analyst at broker Peel Hunt. He added that estate agents had flagged a slowdown in the market. 'With the housebuilders it looks like we are fairly close to the top of the cycle,' he said.

Peel Hunt的分析师补充说，房地产经纪人已经拉响了市场放缓的旗号。 他说：“对于房屋建筑商来说，看起来我们已经相当接近顶端了。”

Shares in Berkeley, which specialises in luxury London homes, fell after it announced its profits of nearly £1 billion were likely to fall by almost a third due to Brexit uncertainty.

伯克利(Berkeley)的股票专门用于伦敦豪宅。在此之前，该公司宣布，由于英国脱欧的不确定性，其利润近10亿英镑，其股价可能下降近三分之一。

In January, Financial Mail revealed its bosses stood to make a total of £127 million in bonuses between now and 2023 despite protests from irate investors.

今年1月，金融邮报披露，从现在到2023年，公司老板总共发放了1.27亿英镑，尽管伊拉克投资者提出了抗议。

Another recent share faller is Persimmon, which in March revealed its chief executive Jeff Fairburn pocketed a total of £47 million last year.

另一位近期的股票是波斯蒙，3月份公布其首席执行官杰夫·费尔本去年共持有4700万英镑。

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: 'Housebuilding bosses seem to have secured excessive pay and bonus packages just before a downturn in the market – housebuyers will be furious.

自由民主党领袖文斯·索普(Vince Cable)表示：“在股市大幅下挫之前，房屋建筑公司的老板们似乎获得了过多的工资和奖金。”

'Shareholders will also be left wondering why these executives should be able to award themselves such obscene packages after claiming credit for a market that has been inflated by Government schemes and taxpayers' money.'

股东们也会迷惑不解，为什么这些高管在向政府计划和纳税人的钱被夸大的市场争取信贷之后，还能得到大笔的贷款。

Some housebuilding firms have also been under fire for their part in a leasehold scandal where homebuyers have been trapped into spiralling annual bills for ground rents.

一些房屋建筑公司也因参与租赁房屋丑闻而受到抨击，房屋买家被困在年度地租账单急剧上升。

Taylor Wimpey set aside £130 million for an assistance scheme for buyers of its homes who have been affected.

Taylor Wimpey为受到影响的房屋买家预留了1.3亿英镑。

Economists expect one or maybe two quarter-point interest rate hikes this year from the current level of 0.5 per cent. As a result mortgage borrowers have been flocking to fixed rate deals.

经济学家预计，今年利率将从目前的0.5%上调1-2.5个百分点，因此抵押贷款借款人纷纷涌入固定利率交易。

Latest official figures show that more than 90 per cent of mortgage loans issued by banks were at fixed rather than variable rates.

最新官方数据显示，银行发放的抵押贷款90%以上是固定利率，而不是可变利率。

Sterling spiked last week after Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane joined those on the Monetary Policy Committee voting for a rate hike, suggesting the Old Lady may raise rates sooner than expected.

上周英格兰银行首席经济学家安迪·哈德内(Andy Haldane)加入货币政策委员会投票支持加息，这说明加息可能快于预期。

The pound rises when interest rates go up because investors who hold sterling earn a higher return.

当利率上升时，英镑升值是因为持有英镑的投资者赚取了较高的回报。

Ray Boulger, a mortgage expert at broker Charcol, said the price of Government bonds trading in the market had barely moved, meaning long-term expectations for rates are unchanged.

Charcole的抵押贷款专家雷·布尔格(Ray Boulger)表示，政府债券在市场上的交易价格几乎没有波动，这意味着利率的长期预期保持不变。