Parking is a premium in large metropolitan areas. A prime example is a parking space in Brooklyn that recently sold for $300,000, according to a report on CNBC. The tides may change as residents move toward ride- and car-sharing, driving down the value of parking spaces. Realtor Anslie Stokes agreed that parking is an issue in places like the trendy Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn.
“For that location, $300,000 doesn’t surprise me all that much. It sounds like since they tore down another [nearby parking] garage to build residential housing, every other space became that much more valuable because they aren’t going to be putting anymore in. Prices are going up because they’re losing precious space.”
The price for parking also shouldn’t come as a shock in the Park Slope area when you consider the price of housing. Benjamin Glaser, features editor with DealNews, noted that a modest 2-bed/2 bath coop can bring big money.
“According to Trulia, the average sale price of an apartment on that block is around $1.3 million.”
Renting a parking space is an option, but it isn’t a cheap option. A report by Trulia found that the Big Apple is the most parking-challenged city, so to speak, followed by Washington, D.C. David Weidner, managing editor for Trulia’s housing economics research team, pointed out that rental prices may not be out of line when you consider the $300,000 selling figure.
“Even in Park Slope, parking spots in gated lots are advertised for hundreds, not thousands of dollars [a month]. Our listings research suggests that homes with parking in that area do not carry such expensive markups just because they include parking. Our advice would be: Buyer beware.”
As ride- and car-sharing catch on in large cities, an investment in a parking space could end up being a losing proposition. Stokes said she already has seen the prices of parking spaces slide in D.C.
“A couple of months ago we sold a condo to a buyer who eight years ago paid $47,000 for her separately gated parking space. We went to sell it [this year] and priced it at $45,000 — and it ended up selling for around $44,000. So it decreased by almost 10 percent in eight years.”
Uber and Lyft make life easier and the millennials are leading the charge. However, Stokes points out that while ride- and car-sharing seem to be making a slight dent in value, parking spaces are still a hot commodity, which is why a garage can get away with selling a space for $300,000 in a posh hood — for now.
“Parking spaces will always be valuable — for the foreseeable future. I don’t see that falling off, but as people get more comfortable with ride- and car-sharing, it could plateau or soften.”
