Craze for car parking spaces stalls as sentiment takes a hit amid weakening economy, coronavirus pandemic
- Transactions of car parking spaces in April fell 67 per cent year on year to 225, while turnover declined by 84.2 per cent to US$46.17 million, data shows
- Prices of car parking spaces could drop by a further 10 per cent and volume by another 20 per cent in the next two months, says co-founder of Carparkhk.com
The total number of parking spaces that changed hands in April fell 67 per cent from a year earlier to a seven-month low of 225, with turnover recording a much larger year-on-year decline of 84.2 per cent to HK$358 million (US$46.17 million), according to Land Registry data compiled by Hong Kong Property (Services).
Brian Wong, co-founder of parking space trading platform Carparkhk.com, said that as long as the Covid-19 pandemic and economic headwinds are around, very few people would buy parking spaces, and some owners would be willing to sell even at a discount.
“There has been significantly less speculation of parking spaces now [and] there is much less turnover,” Wong said.
Hong Kong’s economy contracted by 8.9 per cent year on year in the first quarter, the largest quarterly decline since records began in 1974. It has been hit by months of social unrest followed by the coronavirus pandemic since the start of this year, pushing the unemployment rate to a near 10-year high and dampening appetite for property among other big ticket purchases.
Wong said that in such an environment, investment capital would flow into residential property, as investor confidence in home prices holding up is higher than any other type of property. He added that in the coming two months, prices of car parking spaces could drop by a further 10 per cent, while transaction volumes could fall by another 20 per cent.