The biggest thing in inner-city property sales at the moment is personal car parking spaces, according to newspaper reports, following the announcement by the Property Council that already 2,500 spaces have been lost, with a further 570 to go.
However, despite the recent demand for personal spaces, the reports say, property experts believe that the demand in Brisbane is nowhere near as high as in Sydney and Melbourne, where prices are more than three times higher than what Brisbane commuters are paying.
The market prices for privately-owned spaces was established earlier this year when the Festival Car Park in Charlotte Street was sold for $11 million, making the average cost for a single car space around $20,000.
Buyers in the southern states are paying up to $65,000 for a single space.
However, despite the booming interest in obtaining spaces, the Brisbane City Council is keen to discourage would-be buyers from purchasing, and are instead pushing public transport.
However, property experts said that the majority of those interested in buying are doing so for investment reasons, with a guaranteed return of around 7%.
Since the Property Council’s announcement, a further four open-air carparks have received notices from the Brisbane City Council that they will be shut down, with more to follow.
An additional 570 spaces will also be lost with the redevelopment of the Queensland Place carpark, as will a further 430 spaces across the city.
