A condo parking space in San Francisco on sale for $100,000

For $100,000, you could buy a home in many communities across the U.S. Or you can plop the money down for a parking spot in San Francisco.

Bay Area realtor Bill Williams listed the parking spot on Townsend Street in the city’s tony South Beach neighborhood, saying the owners have been trying to sell it since last year. The parking space is inside a two-story garage that is attached to an upscale condominium, Williams said. One of the condo residents is renting the spot for $300 a month, but the owners moved to New York and want someone else to buy it outright, he said. They pay $135 a month in homeowners association fees and property taxes.

That said, there’s nothing particularly special about the parking spot, Williams said, other that it’s close to the condo’s lobby. “As far as parking spaces go, this is pretty convenient. That’s what it’s all about – convenience.” 

The parking garage, built in 2015, has developed a reputation for being high priced. A different space in the same parking garage, which was built in 2015, sold in November for $90,000 after being on the market for three days.

“Over the years, half a dozen or so spots have sold for between $80,000 and $90,000,” Williams said. 

A bargain at $100,000

Parking is at a premium in San Francisco where the population continues to climb, but available spaces haven’t kept pace. The city had about 172,000 non-residential parking spaces, according to 2016 county data. Traffic research firm INRIX reported in 2017 that San Francisco had the third-worst parking pain in the nation, saying residents spend about 83 hours per year searching for an open spot.

Pricey parking plots aren’t unique to California. In New York, real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens in 2017 listed a space in Brooklyn for $300,000. The spot was in a 145-space parking garage that has an elevator and around-the-clock attendants. The garage offers valet and car-washing for an extra charge. In 2013, a pair of Boston parking spaces sold for $560,000. 

Parking spaces can also fetch a hefty price in cities overseas like Sydney and London. In Hong Kong, a Chinese businessman last year reportedly sold a 135-square-foot parking space for $969,000.