Parking spaces in New York are being sold for $1 million (£620,000) as developers try to cash in on a shortage of car parks.
A luxury development at 42 Crosby Street in the fashionable SoHo district of Lower Manhattan is offering 10 underground parking spots to residents,the New York Times reported.
The site itself is a former car park but spaces are at a premium in the packed district and with the nine three-bedroom flats above costing up to $25 million (£15.5 million), estate agents believe clients will pay the price.
At around $5,500 (£3,400) a square foot, the spaces are more expensive per unit than the apartments upstairs, and anyone buying one is only paying for a 99-year lease that expires if they move out, rather than owning it outright.
Shaun Osher, founder of the brokerage firm handling sales at 42 Crosby, said there are “few to no options” for parking in the area, let alone a private spot in your own building.
“We’re looking at setting the benchmark,” he added. “In real estate, location defines value and parking is no exception to that rule.”
Parking spaces elsewhere in New York have been seen selling for up to $500,000 (£310,000) and it is not the only city being affected by rocketing prices.
In July, a garage in Kensington went on the market for half a million pounds – the same price as an eight-bedroom Georgian mansion in Yorkshire, or a stunning light keeper’s house in Scotland.
Measuring almost 9ft wide and 18ft long, if you rip out the cupboards, it also comes with a £280 a year “service charge”.
Estate agents described it as a “valuable asset” and assured prospective buyers it could “accommodate cars as large as a Range Rover or a Bentley Continental”.