In Hong Kong, the entrance to a parking lot made headlines, both locally and internationally, when it was sold for a record price of HK$5.18 million ($664,200). The lot was not even an entire parking lot, but rather just the entrance space of a carpark. The space is located in the Upton residential building in Hong Kong. The real estate prices in the area have recently been skyrocketing, but this recent price paid for a parking space has broken new ground.
The million dollar space is found on the first floor at a luxury apartment building near the harbor in the western area of Hong Kong. The space was measured at 188 square feet or 17.5 square meters. According to the South China Morning Post, the parking entrance was purchased by an executive director of an investment firm named Kwan Wai-Min. Despite the Hong Kong government trying to slow down the pricing of private real estate, the rising prices are becoming a local problem as small businesses are forced to close as they cannot afford to pay rent for their spaces.
The previous record for the most expensive parking lot sold was also from Hong Kong. Last year a parking space at another luxury apartment complex sold for HK$ 4.8 million or around $615,000. These rising costs for parking spaces comes at a time where prime location in Hong Kong has skyrocketed. Just last month, another Hong Kong businessman purchased a commercial lot in the central business and shopping district of Hong Kong for a reported $3 billion.