Housing prices may have tanked, but the cost of a coveted parking space in Back Bay, Boston, is apparently unfazed by the economic crisis:
An unidentified buyer yesterday paid $300,000 for a private parking space in the Back Bay, making it the most expensive parking space in Boston, according to Listing Information Network, which tracks the city's real estate market.
Debra Sordillo, the Coldwell sales agent who brokered the deal, said several residents at 48 Commonwealth Ave. engaged in a bidding war for the space, driving the asking price of $250,000 up to the record-breaking $300,000. The winning bidder did not want to be identified, she said.
The price is more than what many people pay for a house, but Sordillo said prime parking spaces near the Public Garden are in short supply.
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/06/beacon_hill_par.html
$300,000 ÷ $50/day ÷ 365 days/yr = 16.4 years of illegal parking every day of the year.
That's a lot. I haven't done anything that will require parking 365 days/year for 16 years straight. Don't expect I will.
But 300 grand for a parking space? In these times no wonder the person wants to be anonymous. That is insane.
Of course, when it is resold, there could be a profit to make the net cost lower - or a loss. It's an investment decision.