Australia’s most expensive car parks: agents tip prices to increase

Jaws around Australia dropped at the price forked out for a Sydney car park last month, when a 12 square-metre piece of cement in Kirribilli sold for $120,000 at auction.

Buyers were convinced the sale was the evidence of a market well and truly out of control. But agents say the sale was not an anomaly.

Inner Sydney agents even say car park prices are set to rise with a finite supply of spots around the CBD and a lack of on-street parking.

The 12-square-metre plot of cement sold for $120,000 – $70,000 above reserve. Photo: Supplied

Across the harbour last week, a plot in Elizabeth Bay went for $158,000 at auction – a price Ray White agent Ian Campbell believes is a new record.

“Our research suggests that $158,000 is a record for an open-air car space,” Mr Campbell said. “Garages have sold for higher prices, but we’re not aware of an open, unprotected car space selling at this price.”

83/106 Elizabeth Bay Road, Elizabeth Bay could be a record sale for an open-air slab of concrete. Photo: Supplied

The 13.4 square metre parcel of land was snapped up by a local apartment owner fed up with fighting for limited on-street parking. Mr Campbell said it was these apartment owners who were fighting it out for the amenity.

“There are some very expensive waterfront apartments in Elizabeth Bay that do not have parking because many of these buildings were built at a time when cars were less common and less important,” he said.

Mr Campbell believed car spaces in Sydney would continue to rise in value because of their strictly limited supply.

“The odd ones that come on the market from time to time, are unlikely to be coming back on the market again, because we expect that they will become associated with the owner’s apartment. In future, they are unlikely to be separated [again] for sale,” he said.

A 26 square-metre space in the Chimes Building in Potts Point made headlines in May after it reached $264,000 at auction, a price believed to be the record paid for a car park in Australia. It was later revealed buyers opened their wallets a little wider because they were under the impression they could split the space in two.

A search of Domain.com.au shows a handful of pricey parks available to those who can afford to splash out on convenience.

And Sydney is not the only city charging top dollar for the luxury of parking your car in the same place every day.

In Melbourne, you can expect to fork out more than $50,000 for that privilege in the CBD or in Docklands.

Back in Sydney, an enclosed garage on the waterfront at Pyrmont is on the market for $190,000, alongside a $390,000 berth on the wharf.

Ray White agent Alvie Lin said there had been interest from people wanting to secure a park while they take their boat out for a spin on the harbour.

“I think that’s pretty much what [car parks] go for now, there’s not a lot available in the area,” Ms Lin said.

You can pick up a car space at 54 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont for $190,00 and the berth for $390,000
Photo: Supplied

Meanwhile, an underground park on Exhibition Street in the heart of Melbourne will set you back $57,500, while residents of the Flinders Wharf apartments complex in Docklands can fight it out for a $55,000 addition to their property.