Spare car space is money for jam-packed city dwellers

BRISBANE's garages and carports are raking in easy cash for enterprising property owners, as commuters battle to beat rocketing parking costs.

Residents in the city centre and surrounding suburbs are making up to $2500 a year by renting out their empty spaces at a fraction of the cost charged by commercial operators.

Several surveys have found Brisbane is one of the most expensive places to park in the world.

Findacarpark.com.au founder Francis Armstrong said it cost an average $333 a month to park in Brisbane, based on their commercial and private listings, compared with an average $298 a month in Sydney.

"It doesn't make sense, but in 2008 something happened, I can't explain it, and Brisbane completely leapfrogged everybody," Mr Armstrong said.

A Colliers International 2008 study found Brisbane had the fifth most expensive car parking in the world, at $604.02 a month behind London City ($1191.44), London West End ($1159.67), Sydney ($790.99) and Hong Kong ($757.95).

Mr Armstrong said Findacarpark listed both commercial and private carparking details but private rental listings had increased more than 30 per cent in the past year.

"If you've got the space, the investment return on a carpark would be two or three times more than the average apartment ... you'd get between nine and 12 per cent return a year."

He said motorists could save up to $750 a month by negotiating a long-term private lease, which had the attraction of 24 hour access, compared with commercial options.

West End resident Glenda Ramage paid a one-off $30 fee to have her lock-up garage registered with the website for the past 18 months, enjoying two short-term leases of $170 a month in that time.

Ms Ramage said there was a bus stop at the door, the CityCat stop was three blocks away and her home was a 20-minute walk to South Bank or 45-minutes to the city.

"The concept is excellent. If you've got the space, it's an easy way to make money," she said.