Jurassic parking Author: Tim Elliott Date: 21/05/2005 Source: SMH Publication: Sydney Morning Herald
Space rage and endless kerb trawling are driving a new property market.
There are about three million cars in Sydney and sometimes - usually when you return from a hard day's work - it feels like they've all parked in your street. Hardly surprising, then, is the recent emergence of an entirely new corner of the real estate market: car space realty.
Car spots, whether they be LUGs or simply off-street spaces, have become a valuable commodity, particularly in inner-city suburbs such as Pyrmont and Kings Cross, where parking is at a premium.
"Car spots and garages are an appreciating asset, because there's no chance of oversupply," says Erle Cramer, of Cramer Property Agents. "With inner-city councils cutting back on parking permits, car spots are going to become increasingly valuable."
In the middle of last year, Cramer marketed 425 strata car spaces as part of the MCentral development at Pyrmont, priced between $50,000 and $80,000 each. (The more expensive spaces were larger and had cages for greater security.)
"They sold out in two months," he says. What's more, a space that originally went for $60,000 recently resold for $80,000 - 33 per cent growth at a time when the wider market has stalled.
Around Sydney's city beaches, car spots are equally valuable.
"In some parts of Bondi, like Campbell Parade, a [lock-up garage] can add $100,000 to the price of an apartment," says Mary Anne Cronin, of Raine & Horne Bondi Beach. "In Ben Buckler, because it's a point, a LUG can add $60,000 to $80,000. And just having a spot - that is, off-street parking - is worth $20,000."
Cronin says parking rage is not uncommon. "Visitors who drive to the beach are often reluctant to pay, scouring the residential streets and taking spots from locals."
The trouble with Bondi is that much of the classic art deco buildings weren't built with cars in mind. In Curlewis Street, for example, there are rows of blocks, each with nine to 12 two-bedders. "That's 40 people, say, which means potentially 40 cars per block, with little if any off-street parking."
Compounding the problem are recent moves by Waverley Council to reduce the number of parking spaces to be included in future developments.
"In Bronte, parking spaces are worth their weight in gold, especially in summer," says Belinda Clemesha, of Ray White Cooge/Clovelly. "In some of the more congested parts, like Melrose Parade in Clovelly, Beach Street in Coogee, and down the bottom of Bronte Road, any off-street parking can add $30,000 to $40,000," she says.
THE DOWNSIDE
The "park market" is not without its problems. "I could sell a LUG in Bower Street [Manly] for $150,000 within one hour, easy," says Anthony Walls, of Max Walls International Manly. "The only problem is that you have to already own an apartment in the block where the LUG is being sold."
Walls says the demand is huge nonetheless, "which means that, if possible, you should always get the garage on separate title, so you can sell it down the track if you want".
That's exactly what's happening in notoriously hard-to-park Elizabeth Bay, where Cramer Property Agents' Melanie Cetinich is selling a one-bedder in Roslyn Gardens with separate title for the garage.
"Having it on separate title is a great asset," says Cetinich, who estimates that this feature alone accounts for $50,000 of the apartment's $410,000 price tag.
Last Christmas, Cetinich sold two identical 52sqm one-bedders in Top of the Town; they both had the same configuration and even the same city views, and sold only weeks apart, one for $520,000, the other for $620,000. The difference? "One had a parking space, the other didn't," she says.
Cramer says savvy developers will increasingly try to lure buyers with offers of long-term car leases tied into the asking price of the property.
"We did this two years ago with Lumina in East Sydney," he says. "Buyers got a six-year lease of a car space in an adjacent parking station, with the developer paying for the first three years. I think you'll be seeing more of that in the future."
WEB MASTER
Bianca Bradey, 22, believes every Spider deserves a good home. "When I was looking for an apartment, one of the major prerequisites was that it come with a really good lock-up garage," Bradey says.
"I have a very pretty Alfa Spider, and I don't like to park it in the street." Consequently, the make-up artist and office worker "wouldn't even consider apartments that didn't come with a garage. It simply wasn't an option."
In April, Bradey payed $425,000 for a two-bedder in Penkivil Street, Bondi, just one kilometre from the beach. The apartment is nice, on the top floor of a '70s-era block of 15 apartments. But the real bonus is the garage: an extra-wide tandem lock-up on the ground floor at the rear of the building. "I like the fact that you can get into the car on both sides while you're still inside the garage."
The only drawback? The garage door's not automatic.
ART DECO SURPRISE
BONDI (BEN BUCKLER)
6/146 HASTINGS PARADE
$500,000+
Apartment Two bedrooms, one bathroom and lock-up garage
Size 62sqm
Inspect Sat and Thu, 11-11.45am
Agent Raine & Horne Bondi Beach, 91305262
What an unusually attractive garage. Makes you want to park, doesn't it? Standing at the northern end of Sydney's Bondi Beach and next door to the Bondi Golf Course, this art deco cracker comes recently refurbished, with an enormous main bedroom overlooking a rear garden just begging to be the site of unwinding barbecues. On the top floor of a block of six, the apartment faces north and has no common walls. It's fully carpeted and you'll be cooking on Rosieres gas appliances before dining at the breakfast bar, when not at the nearby RSL. There's also an intercom entrance to keep out the backpackers and riff-raff.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
ELIZABETH BAY
15/8 GREENKNOWE AVENUE
About $700,000
Apartment One-bedder with one bathroom and one security car space
Size 80sqm, including balcony
Inspect By appointment
Agent Richardson & Wrench, 9357 3322
Manhattan is for the buyer with eclectic tastes, not to mention plenty of dough. This north-facing one-bedder not only features all the flash accoutrements one might expect in a development so-named (air-conditioning, galley kitchen, Miele appliances), but is a mere stumble from a plethora of varied nightspots. Or you can stay home doing laps in the heated pool, pretend to use the gym or hang out on your balcony, checking out the view of Elizabeth Bay and the harbour through the trees. There's also a concierge you can annoy, too: at $700K for a one-bedder, you deserve it.