Posted on 09/02/2011 7:57:34 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Helen and Bob Alkon paid $1.3 million for their condominium in downtown Boston two years ago. And while some apartments in the building have slipped in value since then, one of the Alkons' investments has paid off: The parking spot they purchased for $100,000 today sells for $125,000.
"I'm glad I bought when I did," says Ms. Alkon, a retired office manager.
In some downtowns across the country, a scarcity of parking has driven demand into the stratosphere—even in places where home prices are declining. In some buildings, parking costs are nearly on par, on a per-square-foot basis, with the apartments themselves.
Parking comes at a premium in places where crowded conditions and urban revitalization efforts have fueled demand. Residential buildings typically allocate one or fewer parking spots per unit. While these are sold only to residents, some parking spaces on lower floors are leased to non-residents as well.
Building more parking garages isn't necessarily an option. In Manhattan's business core, for example, constructing a public garage requires a special permit that is expensive and time-consuming to obtain. Separately, city planning officials may lower minimum parking requirements at residential buildings that have good access to mass transit, exacerbating the squeeze.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Government created scarcity has created artificially high prices that could disappear in a moment at the whim of a government official.
There is no reason why they couldn't build high rise parking garages that would provide reasonable parking costs (other than city bureaucrats have determined otherwise).
Stories like this make me appreciate my three car garage.
Hey, I only have a one car garage - should you give me one of yours? (and other leftist ideas....)
Amazing. You can buy a pretty decent house in Texas for $125K.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.