A parking spot behind a garage door at Bondi Beach will cost you $1 million. (Source: Google Maps/Domain)
A car park is up for sale at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, and it’s asking a steep price. Parking can be difficult in Sydney, especially around popular spots, so if you want to avoid it, all you need is a million dollars in your pocket.
That’s the asking price for a secure car park attached to the upmarket residential block at 2-4 Knotts Avenue. It may sound like an exorbitant price, but Raine & Horne’s Rick Serrao tells Yahoo Finance that parking in suburbs like Bondi is only going to get more expensive.
“$1 million today will be $2 million five years from now,” Serrao said.
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The owners call this place a “once in a lifetime gem” because it’s as close to the beach as you can imagine.
“Imagine the privilege of arriving at Bondi Beach on a scorching summer’s day free from the stress of searching for a parking space – instead, you can comfortably park your car in your own private covered garage, right on the safe ocean front,” the listing reads.
“Not only does this haven have the closest parking to the beach and icebergs, it also has convenient access to essential amenities like electricity and fresh water.”
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This car park is located as close as possible to Bondi Beach. (Source: Domain)
In addition to paying $1 million for the space, you’ll also have to pay a quarterly levy of $226.88.
Yahoo Finance has reached out to the seller for comment.
That price is much higher than what was sold for the same apartment earlier this year.
A similar parking space was put up for auction in January, with one lucky bidder picking up the keys for just $304,700.
On the other side of the beach, an apartment sold in March for $3.75 million, and during the campaign Mr Lane and Mr Horne received an offer of $1 million for just the garage on the property.
The story continues
“Trying to split the title would just make it too complicated. You would be surprised at how common and in demand parking near the beach is and how much people are willing to pay,” Serrao told Yahoo Finance.
Parking is becoming a long-term investment
Unless you plan on driving to the beach every day for the rest of your life, paying $1 million for a parking spot seems like a stupid idea, right?
Well, the demand is always pretty high, so in the long run, it could actually be quite profitable.
According to Park Hound, car park spaces in Bondi can be rented for $780 a month.
But Serrao believes there could be even more benefit if the space is in a desirable area.
“That garage rents for $250 to $300 a week,” he said, describing the Ramsgate Road property that sold in March.
Australian buys house just for parking
Earlier this year, another garage in Sydney’s upmarket Woolhara neighbourhood sold for a whopping $500,000.
Selling agent Ben Collier of The Agency told Yahoo Finance that the car park was the most expensive he could remember ever selling in the city.
“I would argue that parking adds a minimum of 10 to 12 percent of the value of the entire property per car park, and this is on a percentage basis,” he explained. “This gentleman would think that if his property is worth $5 million or $6 million, the parking lot would reflect the value of the home.”
Parking spaces are becoming increasingly expensive across Sydney. (Source: realestate.com.au)
The garage was fairly unique because it was owned under a separate ownership structure from the apartment building, and Collier said he knows some residents who chose to buy an apartment just to have the parking space.
“There are high-rise apartment buildings that run all the way from Underwood Avenue to Caledonia Avenue,” he told Yahoo Finance.
“When an apartment in that building goes on sale, it’s usually the people who buy it who live right there, and they rent it out while keeping the parking space for themselves.”
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