Hong Kong’s record-breaking parking space market set to lose steam, say analysts
- As the economy starts to stutter some Hongkongers will sell their cars to save money, denting demand for parking bays, says one expert
- The number of parking spots changing hands fell from a peak of 1,348 in June to just 377 in November, the lowest for almost three years
Hong Kong’s famously lucrative market for car parking spaces may be about to stall, according to analysts and investors.
Prices of parking bays, which peaked this year at an average HK$2.25 million (US$290,000), are likely to drop in the short term as demand wavers amid a souring property market, rising interest rates and the US-China trade war.
As the economy starts to stutter some Hongkongers will sell their cars to save money, further denting demand, said Lai Wing-to, a veteran property investor with HK$15 billion of assets.
“The economy will be poor. People will sell cars and avoid maintenance costs,” said Lai.
The parking space market is likely to move in tandem with the broader property market, said Richard Lee, chief executive of Hong Kong Property.
