NYers line up to pay $225K for a parking space

[mawilson 2,133]

In Houston, $225,000 will buy a three-bedroom house with a game room, den,

in-ground pool and hot tub.

In Manhattan, it will buy a parking space. No windows, no view. No walls.

While real estate in much of the country languishes, property in Manhattan continues

to escalate in price, and that includes parking spaces. Some buyers do not even own

cars, but grab the spaces as investments, renting them out to cover their costs.

Spaces are in such demand that there are waiting lists of buyers. Eight people are

hoping for the chance to buy one of five private parking spaces for $225,000 in the

basement of 246 West 17th Street, a 34-unit condo development scheduled for

completion next January. The developer, meanwhile, is seeking city approval to add

four more spots.

Parking in new developments is selling for twice what it was five years ago, said

Jonathan Miller, an appraiser and president of Miller Samuel.

Although spaces in prime sections of Manhattan are the most expensive, even those

in open lots and in garages in Brooklyn, Queens, Riverdale and Harlem are close to

$50,000, although at least one new Brooklyn development is asking $125,000.

Scarcity figures big in the escalating prices. Mr. Miller estimated that less than 1 percent

of all co-op and condominium buildings in the city have private garages. The city also

limits how much parking new buildings below 96th Street can offer, requiring that no

more than 20 percent of the units have spaces.

“It’s a fairly rare amenity,” Mr. Miller said. “And in the world of pet spas and on-site

sommeliers, it’s actually a pretty functional amenity.”

In other densely packed cities where space and parking are at premium, parking spaces

in condos also tend to trade at high prices. In Boston, they can sell for as much as

$175,000, and they go for as much as $75,000 in Chicago. But in other cities, like

Los Angeles and Dallas, most condos include parking in their prices.

For developers in New York, parking is the highest and best use for below-grade space

and fetches about the same price per square foot as actual living space, which costs

much more to develop. According to Miller Samuel, the average parking space costs

$165,019, or $1,100 per square foot, close to the average apartment price of $1,107

per square foot. Those are averages, of course. A $200,000 parking space is about

$1,333 per square foot.

If parking at the Onyx Chelsea, a new 52-unit condo at 28th Street and Eighth Avenue,

is any indication, there is plenty of demand. The first two spots sold for $165,000, the

third for $175,000 and the last two for $195,000. Each space will include about $50 in

monthly maintenance costs. Still, there are three buyers on a waiting list.

Cynthia Habberstad is at the top of that list. She chose not to buy a spot when they

were selling for $165,000, but changed her mind only to learn that all the spaces had

been taken.

“At first, I was getting overwhelmed and didn’t want to spend the money,” Ms. Habberstad

said. “I’m kicking myself now, believe me.”

She and her three children, ages 7, 9 and 11, live on Long Island, but the children’s

modeling schedules bring them into the city at least twice a week, and the apartment

they bought in the building will be a pied-à-terre.

“If we’re coming in late from dinner or we have a lot of stuff in the car, do we really

want to have to walk a few blocks to get home?” Ms. Habberstad said. “It all makes

sense now that I don’t have it.”

Developers are well aware of the demand. “We’re putting in parking in pretty much

every development that we’re working on,” said Shaun Osher, the chief executive of

Core Group Marketing, which represents 246 West 17th Street and about a dozen other

new condo buildings.

In-building parking allows city dwellers with cars to replicate the suburban ideal where

they can park, take their keys and walk right into their homes, Mr. Osher said.

At the Fifth Street Lofts in Long Island City, Queens, which are scheduled for completion

at the end of the year, Jackie and Lee Freund bought an apartment and three garage

spaces at $50,000 each, even though they own only one car.

“We bought three because we know the parking situation is bad now and its only going

to get worse,” Jackie Freund said.

The Freunds, who have a 2-year-old son, have lived in a nearby rental building for the

last three years. After dealing with the hassles of parking on the street, they got a space

in a nearby garage.

“We’ve had the car towed, and my sister had hers towed when she came to visit and

parked on the wrong side of the street,” she said. “They’re crazy for towing around here

since the tow pound is nearby.”

The Freunds plan to sell one of their extra spots at the Fifth Street Lofts and rent out

the other.

Buyers and brokers across the city are confident that prices will only go up as finding

a parking space becomes more difficult. In fact, 40 parking garages or lots in the city

have closed within the last nine months while only 23 new ones have opened, said

Margot J. Tohn, publisher of “Park It! NYC 2007,” a parking garage guide.

“It’s not at a huge, huge scale, but we definitely are losing parking,” Ms. Tohn said.

Tom Postilio, a broker for Core Group Marketing and the director of sales at 246 West

17th Street, said: “There are people looking for apartments who have the attitude,

‘Love me, love my car.’ And for them, if there’s no place to park on the streets, it’s

practically a deal to get a parking spot for $225,000.”

New York Times

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Even short term is a rip. $25/hr in some of those short-stay places in midtown.

[Jasman0717 9]

Anyone remember the Seinfeld show where George had is car in a parking place the and hookers were working out of his car?

[Jenn! 918]

Sickening!

[sereia 0]

thats insane but somehow doesn't surprise me! my apartment in the LES had no parking (and there was NO WHERE on the street in that area to park) but my apartment in astoria had a spot for $50 extra a month. no idea how much they would sell it for though. probably $50,000 too! lol

Edited July 12, 2007 by abdounjen

[mawilson 2,133]

I'm paying $400 / month for my parking space.

I don't see any reason to pay $225,000 for it because

$225,000 / $400 = 562.5 months ~ 47 years

I'm probably not going to live that long.

[almaty 19]

wow..ny suxs

[Ban Hammer 13,643]

wow..ny suxs

agreed.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Anyone remember the Seinfeld show where George had is car in a parking place the and hookers were working out of his car?

Yes! That's the one with Kramer in the pimp outfit.

[~Nini~ 2]

I'm paying $400 / month for my parking space.

Even that's a lot of money!

[mawilson 2,133]

I'm paying $400 / month for my parking space.

Even that's a lot of money!

Yep...Manhattan parking isn't cheap

[sereia 0]

i compared a restaurant i went to today to a better one in ny and my brother got really angry. "you say everything is better in ny!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[jundp 191]

If I had to pay for a parking space, I'd sell my car and use public transportation or walk.

That's insane.

But I don't understand how people can live in NYC to begin with.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It's madness like this that convinces me that Manhattan's bubble is about to burst.

But I don't understand how people can live in NYC to begin with.

Manhattan is an awesome place to live if you've got tons of cash. Of course, if I had to live there on my paycheck, I'd probably have to go live in the PJ's.

[sereia 0]

It's madness like this that convinces me that Manhattan's bubble is about to burst.

oh how i WISH this day would come! *rubs hands together