Million-dollar parking spaces in Manhattan

A New York property developer is offering the uber-wealthy the opportunity to buy a condo parking spot for a cool $1m — merely six times the value of a typical American home.

The 10 parking spaces are for sale at 42 Crosby St, the luxury apartment building under construction in the SoHo neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan.

Based on the $1m price tag, the spots are probably the most expensive residential car spaces in the country, said the broker marketing the seven-storey building.

“Anyone who lives in Manhattan and has a car knows that parking is a premium in the city,” said Shaun Osher, chief executive of the brokerage Core.

“There’s definitely a large demand and a short supply.”

Prices for the parking spots compare with the US median single-family home value of $174,800, according to real estate website Zillow. For that price, however, there are few if any residences for sale in trendy SoHo, known for its high-end fashion shops and art galleries

Osher said he expected residents of the 10-unit building to snap up the parking spots when the underground spaces, which were approved for construction this week, hit the market.

The building, designed by German-born architect Annabelle Selldorf, will include 10 luxury condominiums priced at a minimum of about $8m each with private elevator access.

The 14-19 sq m parking spaces will be offered under a 99-year license to tenants, who will have the right to transfer or sell their parking spaces to other building residents.

The pricey spaces will not lack for amenities. Osher said they would come with storage space and electric car charges.